ar game, and
one affording new and genuine interest, as evidenced by the pleasure
of children in playing it. Indeed, the interest and sport were fully
as great with a group of adult Greek men who first demonstrated this
game for the author. This element of guessing which player holds a
concealed article is found again in a different combination in the
Scotch game of Smuggling the Geg, where it is used with opposing
groups and followed by hiding and seeking. This combination makes a
wholly different game of it, and one of equal or even superior playing
value to the Pebble Chase, though suited to different conditions.

Because of this wonderful variety in combinations, leading to entirely
different playing values, the author has found it impossible to agree
with some other students of games, that it is practicable to select a
few games that contain all of the typical elements of interest. Such
limitation seems no more possible than in painting, poetry, music, or
any other field of spontaneous imitative or creative expression.
There will doubtless always be some games that will have large popular
following, playing on the "psychology of the crowd," as well as on
that of the players. Thus we have the spectacle of so-called national
games, Baseball and Football in America, Handball in Ireland, Pelota
in Spain, and so on; but natural expression through games has always
been and probably always will be infinitely varied, and should be if
the psychology of the subject is to be taken as a guide.

In the arrangement of material there has many times been a strong
temptation to classify the games by their historic, geographic,
psychologic, or educational interests; by the playing elements
contained in them; or by several other possible methods which are of
interest chiefly to the academic student; but these have each in turn
been discarded in favor of the original intention of making the book
preeminently a useful working manual for the player or leader of
games.

[Sidenote: Varying modes of play]

The same games are found not only in many different countries and
localities, but under different names and with many variations in the
form of playing them. This has necessitated a method of analytical
study which has been followed with all of the games. A card catalogue
has been made of them, and in connection with each game notation has
been made of the various names under which it has been found, and
details of the differences i