by then they will have taught him how to play parcheesi and a simplified version of monopoly ; by then they will have invented the duddits game and played it incessantly , sometimes laughing so hard that alfie cavell ( he was the tall one of the pair , but he also had a birdie look about him ) would come to the head of the stairs in the kitchen , the ones that led to the rec room , and yell down at them , wanting to know what was going on , what was so funny , and maybe they would try to explain that duddits had pegged henry fourteen on a two hand or that duddits had pegged pete fifteen backward , but alfie never seemed to get it ; he 'd stand there at the head of the stairs with a section of the newspaper in his hand , smiling perplexedly , and at last he 'd always say the same thing , keep it down to a dull roar , boys , and close the door , leaving them to their own devices ... and of all those devices the duddits game was the best , totally bitchin , as pete would have said .