School Basement Games

One of the games we used to play a lot at Calvary Bible School was Round Table--a group ping-pong game. Today we played it at school, the first time in my memory when we did a Friday afternoon activity entirely in the basement. It was a miserably wet and windy day, so this was a good option. We played Round Table with a variation I am not especially fond of. Or maybe we didn't play it right all those decades ago at CBS. For sure, I typically survived longer at CBS than I did today. My personal fleetness is notably in shorter supply these days than it was then.

At CBS we used to drop out after we made one mistake. Today, no one dropped out unless they had three mistakes. And there was something about having to catch other people's mistakes to make sure they dropped out when they were supposed to. And, if I understood it right, you gained points by correctly pointing out others' ineligibility for further participation in the game. I liked it better when the game was more straightforward: Play ping-pong until you goof up. Drop out cheerfully and rejoin later for the next game. Things moved along faster in the old CBS version too.

Today those who were eliminated in the Round Table game had the option of joining the Amish Pool game. I keep wondering where this game originated. Do people play this just in Amish communities? Does it have other names elsewhere? Here's a brief description: A long table-height, carpeted "trough" has a "well" at either end. One player stands at each end of the trough, and they take turns rolling a cue ball to the other end, hoping to dislodge and "sink" the four balls positioned along the sides of the trough near the far end--before the opponent does so with the four balls he's taking aim on. The winner always takes on the next person in line.

Who can tell me more about Amish pool?