Fast and Loose

During the Medieval times, one of the popular games at fairs was called “Fast and Loose.”   The game was a simple enough game to play and was a real crowd pleaser.

The game host would fold a belt and ask a player to pin the belt fast to the table with a skewer.  Once the player (and the audience) was certain that he had pinned the belt fast to the table with a skewer, the game host would suggest a wager on whether the player had indeed skewered the belt.

As anyone could see, the belt was most certainly pinned to the table, however, the water wasn’t about having pinned the belt, but rather having skewered the belt. 

With all the bets in, the game host would loose the belt and show it to everyone in the audience, proving that the player had not been pierced by the skewer anywhere on the belt.