OK, and here is the "Rest of the Story:"
You are invited to join with me as we go “down the rabbit hole,” a phrase that has come to describe “getting deep into something” and/or “ending up somewhere strange” as did Alice in Wonderland when she went down the rabbit hole.
Just before Christmas Eve I sent out by text a challenge to family members who were coming to join us for the holidays. Below a photo of a hula hoop laying on a card table I texted:
“Mystery Game
This is one piece of an old game I am replicating to play on Christmas Eve. Still locating and assembling the other parts which include 14mm cork balls that were just received from England.
The game originated in France and I first played it when my Uncle and Aunt gave it to us for Christmas in the 1950s. It is only available in Europe.
Anyone who can guess the French name of the game gets a prize.”
The first response was, “I’m super excited to play Petanque, sometimes also called Boules. Should be fun.” I responded, “Keep guessing,” and provided the added hint, “It is played on a table top.”
After several more incorrect answers I added, “FAO Schwartz once made a version of it but if you can find one it would qualify as an antique. I have only seen a used board on eBay without the added equipment.”
Finally we had a winner as daughter Lisa responded, “Billiard Nicolas?” Or as she later opined, “I like to call it Billiard Saint Nicolas” in view of its described Christmas connection.
To make a short story even shorter, this is what went into my efforts to replicate and reimagine the game of Billard Nicolas that was other wise known as “Puff Billiards” here on this side of the pond.
First a description of the original game and how it is played is in order. Priced at over $700 for a fully authentic custom made one from Europe, what one gets today is a circular hand made wood playing board with four holes or cavities above which are affixed holders and puffer devices resembling rubber bike horn bulbs. Scoring beads are included. The game comes with four cork balls.
The game itself invented and patented in 1894 by Frenchman Nicolas Redler was described in a contemporary French journal as, “The game consists of a table with a rim in which are cavities, each defended by a player who must prevent a ball thrown on the table from rolling into this cavity.” In effect, the referenced “cavities” correlate to the corner pockets of a pool table. The cork balls are moved by streams of directed air they are created by each player squeeing the bulbs on his or her “puffer.”
As for my attempt at replicating and reimagining the game, it was requisite to acquire original cork balls which I ordered from England for a modest sum. Instead of a game board I opted to have the table top itself be the playing surface and in order to keep the cork balls contained I came up with the idea of using a card table sized Hula Hoop to create a rim.
The more perplexing hurdle though was how to replicate the pockets or holes into which the cork balls would be directed. Since I couldn’t go down, I decided to go up. A visit to a local classic toy store led me to an inexpensive marble game called “Skill Ball” that had included ramps with multiple scoring holes already in place. The manufacturer was Schylling Toys located on the north shore of Boston. I purchased four of these to place at the locations where the holes in the original game were positioned.
Now my final MacGyver effort to replicate the original game called for finding a substitute for the costly Puffers. I was about to go with Turkey Basters until at the same classic toy store I chanced upon a baby bath toy with a more pliable rubber bulb. Manufactured by Hape Toys it went by the name of a “Squeeze & Squirt Pipette.” The store had exactly four left and I bought them out.
An item I did not attempt to reimagine were the scoring beads to keep count of how many times the cork balls would fall into the holes of the original game. Since the cannibalized ramps from the “Skill Ball” marble games already had varying numbers assigned to their indentations, keeping track of the score with abacus like sliding beads would not be practical. Pen and paper would have to suffice for keeping track of the scored points. Likewise, I omitted the holders for the “Puffers” and instead imposed a rule that the players must keep the replicated “Puffers” within prescribed boundaries.
So was the effort to replicate and reimagine the original game a success? Thankfully, yes!
Not only did the bath toy “puffers” effectively produce a stream of air that would propel the cork balls, but the balls themselves perfectly fit into the marble games’s scoring indentations. The Hula Hoop rim did the job of keeping the cork balls contained.
Best of all the replicated and reimagined Nicolas. Billiards game, even with the imported authentic cork balls, cost a fraction of what a custom made original would have sourced from Europe. For example the Skill Ball marble games are available for less than $10 each and a small sized Hula Hoop can be had for close to the same sum. A 28 inch diameter one that can be easily broken into pieces for transport and storage is known as the “Toyagator” as available from Amazon for $10.50. In my case though I ended up cutting and adding plugs to reassemble the one I found locally in order to allow the Hula Hoop to fit for transport.
In fact the addition of scoring indentations with their varied number values in place of pocket holes arguably is an enhancement adding to the playing experience offered by the original. With an analogous addition by the game’s inventor the game may have become more popular as it was otherwise reported that its inventor “did not earn much money from this invention.”
I will defer to winning daughter Lisa’s idea that the replicated and reimagined version of Nicolas Billards should be named “St. Nicolas Billiards.”
While we are still “down the rabbit hole” I have to share some added points of interest learned from this venture. Peter Handstein who was the founder of Hape Toys grew his business from a local toy shop in Germany with the philosophy of, Love Play, Learn” and his company’s mission statement is to help children to grow and learn happily.
Schylling Toy Company’s motto is “Reimagining Classic Toys.”
The seller of the Toyagator Hula Hoop promotes his product with an amazing promise that takes the cake:
“The more you use Toyagator Hula Hoops, the faster you’ll see your child go from an average kid to an athletic, smart, and confident young person who will always take the lead.”
Not sure I can make a similar promise for players of the reimagined St. Nicolas Billiards, but who knows? - It does include a Hula Hoop.
