Best Betting Cardgame. I made up a cardgame to play with the kids. Each person antes one toy soldier (or coin or chip) onto a piece of paper (to keep things tidy) and is dealt three cards. You then bet in turn, as in poker. You can match previous bets, drop out, or match the previous bets and then raise up to 5 soldiers. If you drop out, you show your cards. When nobody wants to raise anymore, those remaining in the game show their cards and the high card wins. My 5-year-old and 7-year-old both like it, and even the 4-year-old played for a while. I like it because there is some strategy involved regardless of the level of the other players, and this is far easier for kids than poker would be.

I've thought of a solitaire version too. The player is dealt three cards, and so is the bank. Each antes two soldiers. The live player then can bet one, two, or three more soldiers or drop out. After his decision, the bank's cards are revealed and either the bank or the player wins.

British Counties. The Association of British Counties county map of the real boundaries of the counties of England, Scotland, and Wales (not the ones introduced in the past fifty years). I was cheered to learn that as of the mid-1990's Rutland actually exists as an administrative unit again, after its earlier abolition. I used to toast lost Rutland at TIP events in the 70s.

British Counties

This is good for a game in which the children choose one county at a time for their kingdoms and color them in as they go.