Product Description

Mornington Crescent is a game whose rules and history are shrouded in myth and legend. Games can last as long as a few minutes and the best rival chess in their intellectual dexterity, poker in their subtlety and cunning and Ker-Plunk! in their ability to turn youth and age into one harmonious sort of thing. This book is a history of the game and a study of the great players who have graced the game over nearly a century. It includes testimony from today's great exponents and hints from the professionals on how to play the game more effectively. I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is the most listened-to comedy programme on British radio, an institution with regular panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer and until 1996 Willie Rushton, being given silly things to do by jazz supremo Humphrey Lyttelton - and it is the only BBC radio show other than the Proms that can charge for admission!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102650 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mornington Crescent is a game which has baffled fans of the Radio 4 show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue for years. Among their frequently asked questions are "What are the rules of Mornington Crescent?", "Does Mornington Crescent have rules, and if so what are they?" and "Mornington Crescent: rules, please?". Here--at last--written by the four men in the country least likely to be able to help, is a little book which goes little or no way towards answering such queries. Naturally, The Little Book does contain an informative section on the rules of play but as these are incomprehensible to anyone who does not already know them, the section never strays from basics such as the helpful reminder that

if a player moves to such a location that there are less than two occupied bases between the location played and the next but one Shift Zone, Morton's Convention being in play, whether the Loop has been vectored from either Diagonal or not... then that move is declared under-struck.

The Little Book of Mornington Crescent offers far more than mere analysis. With painstaking accuracy, the authors plot the game's history, from its origins in the Roman Empire to its present day popularity as a subject for discussion on the Internet. There are detailed discussions of key games and potted biographies of some of Mornington Crescent's most celebrated players, ranging from Mother Anna of Widdicombe to Lord Nelson. Lavishly, almost gratuitously, illustrated with black and white photographs of dubious provenance, the book includes a comprehensive glossary and even recipes for such staples as Tufnell Pork and Shepherd's Bush Pie. In fact, so informative is this book that it may be prudent to recall Jeremy Hardy's words of wisdom: "If you've understood Mornington Crescent, nothing else in your life makes sense". --Anoushka Alexander

About the Author
Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Willie Rushton, Humphrey Lyttelton. Barry Cryer's writing credits include material for Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Bruce Forsyth, Rory Bremner and Jasper Carrott, to name but a few. As if this was not enough, he has also collaboratively penned series like Hello Cheeky! and appears regularly on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, and Just a Minute. He delighted audience with his one-man show The First Farewell Tour. He was made an OBE for services to comedy in 2001. Doctor Graeme's Aberdonian roots are dyed a pleasing flesh colour. In 1968, while waiting in a queue for treatment at King's College Hospital, London, Graeme carelessly qualified as a doctor. Fame eluded him with The Goodies and the original idea for I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue was Graeme's, but he generously refuses to take all the blame.

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Customer Reviews

Well, it solved a mystery....
For many years I have wondered how the Hither Green bypassing Blackheath gambit could work. Thanks to this book and references to the Sommmerly-Styles Version (circa 1947) I have devised a cunning strategy using Croydon East (it is allowed!)and Bromley by Bow when faced with the South East London tri-merger.

There is still a Wapping Gap in my knowledge though, I have to say. Happy playing!

I finally understand
I was recently given this book, and although it took a while to read, due to the many and varied digressions from the subject at hand, some of the explanations in this book have really aided my understanding of the rules of Mornington Crescent, and I have actually been able to hold my own at club level (still losing each game, but at least making the other players sweat now!)

I do agree with other reviewers that more effort could be made to explain the rules in simpler terms, but then the game would become accessible to any old riff-raff, in the same way that Tennis and Cricket have in recent years.

Let's hope that we soon see a sequel that will give us even more insights into advanced play!

Mornington Crescent and the Jubilee Line
One minor dissapointment is that this otherwise perfectly researched rule book does not shed any light on the effects this year's opening of the Jubilee Line had. Is it now possible to supercede after a parallel move? And being German one other omission saddened me: how does the right-hand traffic on the continent affect the rules for the international version of MC? However, all in all a must for any Sorry I haven't a clue afficcionado!