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What is 45s?
Good question. Have you heard of Maw? I didn't think so. Our good buddy King James VI of Scotland (also King James I of England; look it up) had this great desire to play a cardgame called Maw. It was either an Irish or Scottish game that was played by the people and made its way up to the castle of James VI.
Of course the game was popular and it evolved into a game called Spoil Five which is very similar to the game of Fortyfive which is still played today especially in Canada. Auction fortyfives came out of that mess also but we think it came from somebody that cheated so much that he made up his own game.
The great game of fortyfives (according to the NEA45s the official way to write out the name is 45s) was also derived from Maw. The similarities are the order of the cards, the "Renege Rule", it was a trick based game, etc. We are not quite sure how this game came to be but we are pretty sure that it originated in Northeastern Massachusetts near Lawrence. It is also played in Haverhill, Methuen and other surrounding towns.
Why is the Academy based in Boston? Because that is where the founding fathers now live. Keith is from Haverhill and learned the game from his father and Thurston of course learned it from Keith.
Interesting points
-Maw was played in the 15 and 1600's
-King James VI used to have someone hold his cards for him while he played (and Thurston always has someone shuffle for him; coincidence?)
-The Irish word for "five" is the same as the word for "trick"
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