'SHUT THE BOX!'

Okay, those of you who are expert in all things Colonial probably know what the game 'Shut the Box' is.
I did not (which shows the depth of my ignorance) until a recent visit to Colonial Williamsburg where I went 'gamboling' one evening at Chowning's Tavern. The verb 'gambol,' which in todays verbiage is mostly applied to sheep and their ilk: 'the lambs were gamboling in the field,' and so forth. However, its meaning is the same: to run about and have fun. And yes, it is related to the verb 'gamble' from a common ancestral root word.
But since this blog is not about linguistics, back to the gambol.
In Colonial Williamsburg, and presumably in Colonial times, a 'gambol' meant an evening spent at a tavern engaging in games, sing alongs, music and so forth.
Sounds like fun, right? Particularly on those long winter nights when the sun sets so early and, with no 'modern' entertainments like TV and the internet, there wasn't much to do.
The game 'Shut the Box' is one to which I was introduced at the gambol I attended. Colonials and post Colonials played cards, and a number of other table top games, of which Shut the Box is one, and one I like quite a bit.
It's contained in a shallow box not much larger than a shoe box and consists of a row of numbered (1-12 in the game I played) flip tabs of wood mounted on a spindle of some kind, and a small open space in which to roll the dice.
Let's remember that games of chance featuring dice were extremely common in Colonial and post Colonial times, as were card games. (See the comment above about the absence of 'modern' entertainment.) Wagering was done, of course, but one need not wager to play Shut the Box or any other game.
The allure of Shut the Box is that it can be played alone, as a test of wits and skill to some extent. The strategy is pretty simple. And of course, the game increases in competitive--shall we say, 'fun?'--when it is played with two or more people, as you all vie to get the lowest score.
Ok, let me explain. Player 1 rolls the dice. Whatever number s/he rolls, s/he flips those tabs to make that total. For example, if one were to roll a 1 and a 4, one would flip tabs that add up to 5 in the 'box.' Or, one could just flip the '5' tab.
And here's the strategy: since the aim is to end up with no tabs, or at least the lowest numbered tabs remaining, the best strategy is to flip the highest numbered tabs first.
In the above example, then, player 1 would flip the 5.
This player carries on rolling and flipping tabs until s/he rolls a number s/he cannot flip tabs to match. For example, if s/he were to eventually roll a 9 and have, say, the 1, and the 3 and the 4 tabs left, that only adds up to 8, so that player is out. Also, if in this scenario s/he were to roll a 12, s/he would also be out because all the tabs left are less than the roll.
Player 1 adds up her or his total score, which is the numbers on the tabs left un-flipped, added together.
Then the next player takes her or his turn and tries to beat Player 1's score.
When I played, the lowest score I ended up with was 14, but I only played a couple of rounds and wasn't really concentrating too hard: I was having too much fun!
Board games like Shut the Box would probably have been played not only at taverns, but in homes during Colonial and post Colonial times. To that end, I've written a new scene in my book about The Oldest House,  A RIVER IN TIME, in which Izzy, Josh, Elizabeth and Sam play the game.
It's an homage to the evening of gamboling I enjoyed at Colonial Williamsburg, and I think it adds wonderful detail of authenticity and fun to the book.
The new, expanded second edition of RIVER will be out in December. More news on this later...
~DLC