Crud (game)

Crud (also known as "Slosh) is a fast-paced game loosely based on billiards or pool, and originated in the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is played in units of the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Coast Guard, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the Royal Australian Air Force.

The game of slosh has been played in Australian Army Officer's Messes since the Vietnam era (the author of this addition played this game from 1983, generally after Dining-In Nights.

The game is played on a pool or snooker table (usually the latter, when available) using the cue ball (the shooter ball), and one object ball (most commonly a striped ball since it is easiest to determine if it is in motion). Only the corner pockets are used on non-snooker or smaller tables. On these, the side pockets (if there are any) are blocked off, traditionally by rolls of toilet paper.

Pool cues are not used; the shooter ball is launched across the table surface with the hand. A game of crud involves moving around the table and other players, trying to grab the shooter ball and either strike the object ball before it stops moving or sink it. This boisterous game is usually only played in a military mess as the management of most public establishments would not normally condone contact sports and tolerate the apparent abuse of their equipment.

Crud is a competitive, team sport. Each member of the two teams has three lives. The exception to this rule in some establishments is for "virgins", those who have never played the game before, who are given an additional life. A team's order of play is established at the beginning of a game and recorded on the scoreboard. A team must play in order, like baseball's batting order. Anyone caught playing out of turn loses a life.

Before play can begin, the Judge does a roll call to verify the presence of all players. Anyone not present at the time of a roll call has his/her name erased and may not play in the game. Once all persons have been verified, a lag is performed.

In the event of an uneven number of players wishing to be involved with a crud match, a ghost may be assigned to a team missing the required number of players. In the event of a ghost player, the second or third lives of the Ghost's" team players are assigned to the "Ghost" until 3 lives attrit the "Ghost". Once the ghost is gone, play resumes as normal.

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Wikipedia