Shove Halfpenny or Ha'penny

How to buy Ha'penny &  Penny games.

History of the Game
Shove Halfpenny or shove Ha'penny is a smaller version of the game Shovel Board, which was played widely in Taverns throughout England as early as the 15th Century. Throughout history other variations of the game such Shoffe-grote (using Edward IV groats), Slype Groat and Slide-thrift were all played in a similar to Shove Halfpenny but with different coins.

Game Instructions
The Game is played on a small rectangular smooth wooden board featuring a number of horizontal lines or grooves across the board separated roughly at 1.5 coin diameter intervals. Five halfpennies are placed at the edge of one end of the board and are 'shoved' along the board by being struck with the palm of the hand. Each player takes it in turn to 'shove' all five of the coins up the board. At the end of the turn each coin that is completely within a 'bed' (between two horizontal lines and within the bordering vertical lines) scores a point for that player in that bed. The points are scored with chalk marks in the squares at either end of the bed on the edge of the board, one player owning the right side, the other, the left. The aim is to get three chalk marks in each of the squares - three scores in each of the nine beds. However, once three scores have been made in a bed, any further scores in that bed will be given to the opponent instead, unless the opponent already has three scores in the bed.

Boards
The game has been a popular pastime for centuries. It was so popular in medieval England that large amounts of money could be wagered on the game, and the board had to be kept in a room at the back of pubs to prevent untrustworthy patrons from playing and causing brawls that would be bad for business. Even King Henry the VIII of England played, and records show that he had to pay out substantial sums to members of his court who beat him.

The game is played with five coins, which are shoved up the board, which is scored with horizontal lines. The aim is to score points by getting the coins in the space between these lines, so 'bedding' them. Attempts can be made to knock other coins into other positions or out of position and the game requires a suprising level of strategy - for example, it is a bad idea to 'bed' the third coin until later on in the game.