Editing Shell game (section)

{{Short description|Confidence trick}}
{{Other uses|Shell game (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
[[File:Pop Haydn the Shell Game (cropped).jpg|thumb|The shell game involves a small item hidden under one of several shells]]
[[File:Shell game.jpg|thumb|upright|An illegal shell game performed with bottle caps on [[Fulton Street (Manhattan)|Fulton Street]] in [[New York City]]]]
The '''shell game''' (also known as '''thimblerig''', '''three shells and a pea''', '''the old army game''') is a public [[gambling]] game that challenges players to follow the movement of a marker hidden under one of several covers (shells). In practice, the game is almost always run as a [[confidence trick]] that uses [[sleight of hand]] to transfer the marker between covers. In confidence trick slang, this swindle is referred to as a ''short-con'' because it is quick and easy to pull off.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2014/12/26/three-card-monte-scam-artists-return-to-midtown|publisher=[[New York Post]]|title=Three-card monte scam artists return to midtown, Is this Christmas 2014 – or 1974?|date=26 December 2014}}</ref> The shell game is related to the [[cups and balls]] conjuring trick, which is performed purely for entertainment purposes without any purported gambling element.