Flinch

15-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Wednesday, March 1, 1911: 

Blustering March, month of spring,

We bid you welcome here.

You bring the sunshine and the flowers.

Hurrah for the third month of the year.

I was invited to dine out this evening and accepted the invitation. It was up at Gauger’s. My beauteous or rather vain sister was up also. It was, as I supposed in honor of the senior class. I had quite a pleasant evening. I played Flinch part of the time. My partner and I winning two games.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later: 

A hundred years ago Flinch as a popular card game.  According to Amazon’s website the game is still available– though I’m not familiar with it.

Flinch is played with a deck of 150 cards. The cards go from 1 to 15.  It is kind of  a cross between double solitaire and “go fish.”  It can be played with partners—though partners are not necessary.

Each player receives a stack of face down cards. The first player turns over a card. If it is a “1” it is put in the center of the table. Otherwise the player puts it face up on the table in front of him- or herself. 

Once the first person is finished the next player turns over a card. If the card is one higher than the top card in the center of the table, it can be placed there–or if the card is one above or below a card in front of another player it can be placed on top of that card. If the card doesn’t go anywhere, it is placed face up on the table.  Play continues until a player goes out.

If a player fails to notice that a card can be put on a previously placed card, the other players yell, “flinch.”

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Grandma’s sister Ruth and Bill Gauger were both senior’s at McEwensville High School They will marry several years later.