The Salt Game
Not dissimilar to the classic disco game "Musical Chairs", "The Salt Game" (or, simply, "Salt") is a simple card game played by a selection of Sixth Formers in the upper common room. Many prefer it to other card games, such as Poker, because of its simplicity, and because the number of possible players is seemingly unlimited. (More than one deck of cards can be used)
How to Play
The number of cars in the deck should be 4x the number of people in the game. If there is less than thirteen players, numbers can be taken out of the game. For example, if there are twelve players, the two of diamonds, the two of hearts, the two of clubs, and the two of spades could be taken out of the deck. The deck is shuffled, and then dealt, so that each player has four cards each. The players must be sat in a circle. It is worth noting that playing the game around a table is recommended. Salt sachets are then placed on the table. There must be one less sachets of salt than the number of players playing the game. So, if there are twelve players, there should be eleven sachets of salt. These can be spread evenly along the table, piled up in the centre, or arranged however the players see fit. On a periodic count, all the players simultaneously pass one of their cards to the player on their left, and collect one from the player on their right. It would be incorrect to say a player's aim is to get a hand of the same number from each of the suits, but one must assume that this will happen, and that the player who is the first to get such a hand has a distinct advantage. Upon achieving a hand of this sort, the player in question must declare "Salt!", signalling to the other players that they are permitted to attempt to retrive a sachet of salt. As soon as this happens, all the players should do everything in their power to claim possession of one of the sachets. There will, of course, be one player who doesn't manage to do so, as there shouldn't be enough available salt sachets. This player is the loser of this round, and is eliminated. The game proceeds to the next round, with one of the salt sachets used in the previous round eliminated, four cards (the same number in each of the suits) eliminated, and the loser of the last round sitting out. The game is then repeated until, eventually, all but one of the players have been eliminated. Hence, the remaining player is declared victor.
Variations of the Game
The Salt Game is known to be an incredibly versatile game, with many variations available. For example, the sachets of salt can be placed anywhere. Such an idea has been tried in the past, when they were placed on the common room food bar. After just one round, however, which Matt Riley won, Mr Elkington was notified by a dinner lady of the goings on, and proceedings were subsequently halted. Some more hardcore players may opt to snort a sachet of salt upon their elimination from the game. This has happened once, and once only.
