384 ON SIAMESE LITERATURE. 



The gaming farm renter, Nai Bmvn Hoa hea, and his head people, 

 distribute the winnings to the parties to prevent fraud. 



Thamtat is a game played by any number of persons — but seldom 

 exceeding ten. There is always a holder of the box or a banker. The 

 other players are numbered from one upwards. 



They deposit what stakes they please and the banker chuses to 

 admit. He then takes out an indefinite quantity of cowrie shells, and 

 counts them out by the number corresponding to that of the players (with 

 exception of himself). When they have been told out, so that either that 

 number only, or an odd number remains, he loses or wins according to the 

 following rules : The holder of the bank, if his remaining number corres- 

 ponds to that which marks his own position, wins all the other stakes. 

 But he pays, should the number be that of any one of the other players. 

 The winner gives the box. 



Len po is the Chinese game of dice, which has been naturalized in 

 Siam. The dice are generally one or two cubes — and each face is divided 

 into two compartments, the one black or red, the other white. They are 

 of ivory. They rest in a chamber in a brass box and another is fitted so as 

 to slide down over it. 



The shaker of the box. 



tai-beng 1 



Po 



cho-an 2 



tang 

 ( 



chod 



tai-beng 2 



cho-an 1. 



U-am 



Head Chinese © 



do. 



The box having been placed in the centre of the cross and all the 

 stakes deposited — the cover is taken off". If the red half of the uppermost 

 face of the dice points to tai beng first, the banker pays that stake — and 

 wins ad and kak and U-am and cho-dn and tang, cho-an second and tai 

 heng second. If opposite to da he takes all the stakes but tang. If 



