< Granny's Attic
< Traditional Games and Pastimes

Stick & Bottle
Shove Ha'penny
Granny's Attic Games

Shove Ha'penny

Tamsin's grandfather was a great fan of this old bar game. He made the board she played on as a child and which she still has, now with a lovely sheen on it from all the ha'pennies that have been shoved along it over the years.

To play: the aim is to strike the ha'pennies (we use 2p pieces) so they slide cleanly into one of the nine 3cm wide spaces across the board, without touching the dividing lines at all.

Five coins are used per go. Each coin is laid slightly overlapping the bottom edge of the board and 'shoved' up the board with the flat of the palm or ball of the thumb. If a shoved coin falls exactly within the lines on the board, a point is scored and chalked up at the side.

Players take turns shoving - five coins per go. A line is filled when three chalk marks have been awarded by one person against each line. If a coin subsequently falls on this line the point is passed to the opponent (except on the last point of the game).

The lines can be filled in any order. A coin that goes beyond the last line is out of play and cannot be used. Coins that fail to touch the first marker line may be played again.

The winner is the first to fill all their lines.