Description

Retruco is described on the box as "A Game of Skill, for Winter Evenings, Playable on any Table". It also is an early example of celebrity marketing, as the box declares "Played at Warwick Castle During the Visit of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, May 1895". The box claims "Patent No. 575".

The rules say the name is Spanish for "a recoiling" and the game consists of 9 wooden pins, 3" tall, and a wooden ring. The eight yellow pins are set up in a square and the single black pin goes in the center of the square.

Players take turns propelling the ring by pushing down from the top so that it moves forward with a reverse spin, one that brings it back toward the player if it hits a pin. A player gets three shots, plus one more for each hit. Pins are reset for each player's turn.

Hitting a pin scores 10 for those in the rank nearest to him, 20 points for those on either side of the black "king" pin, and 40 points for those in the far rank. Hitting the "king", however, wipes out his score and ends his turn. First player to reach 500 wins.