Games and Sports

What games does your character play for pleasure and enjoyment? Darts, dice and card games are popular in any culture, and what follows is a collection of some of the other games played within the seven regions. This list is by no means all-inclusive. If you have a game that you would like to see listed here, please be sure to mail a description to The Webmaster.

Boxing

A widespread sport, popular with all classes of people. The element of the game is simple: two men trying to knock the other into unconsciousness. In official matches, each boxer wears padded headgear as well as padded leather gloves (usually a series of leather thongs tied over the hand and sometimes padded with wool). The gloves used to be studded with metal but when fights became increasingly blood and gory, the studs were banned.

BuoyBall* (or Bu'ball)

From Southern Oceanuus: A water sport played using the buoy ball. Two rectangles of bamboo, propped up at right angles, are spread a distance apart. The ball can not be carried during play by anyone except the guard, who blocks the goal as best he can.

Technique: the ball can either be swatted with the hand or wake-struck. Wake-striking is when one's hand moves through the water, causing the ball to be pushed by the resulting wake. Many amateurs have found themselves quitting halfway through a game of bu'ball complaining of sore red palms. While directly hitting the ball with one's hand means greater force, skillfully wake-striking can mean the difference between lasting a whole game and paddling back to shore. Still, a wake-striker with enough skill can manage consistent, powerful shots with surprising accuracy.

*Buoy Ball: a ball created by coating a round fruit (usually frostberry) in layers of wet leaves and leather. A hole is left in the whole mass, while the round shape is maintained as best as possible. After the whole thing dries, the hole is held over a steady flame, causing the fruit to shrivel and crack. A pole is pushed into the hole, knocking out the dried flakes. In the end, a hollow ball is created, which is then coated in gum or oilblack. (Thanks to the player of Edail Archiras!)

Chess (or "Check")

Very similar to the game we are all familiar with, brought to Lyran Tal courtesy of unknown travelers, but with some local adaptations:

King = Emperor (a stalemated Emperor may be transposed with one of its other pieces, as long as this does not result in check)
Queen = Archmage (moves to the first diagonal square)
Bishop = General (moves to the second diagonal square, never occupying the first diagonal)
Knight = (Knight)
Rook = Fort or Keep (there is no "castling" move)
Pawn = Pawn or Army (moves only one square at a time without the initial two-step move)

The board may or may not be checkered. The traditional names for the pieces are sometimes still used (the natives may call the bishops "bishops" because that's how they were first known throughout the Empire), but if you ask them what a bishop is they may tell you they don't know or say that it's an archmage or governor, or any other similarly powerful local office.

Darehm

An Arborian board game for two. Different colored gemstones are used for game pieces. When one manages to move all their pieces into the correct place and their opponent is unable to move, "Sharm'le" is cried out. The boards themselves are works of art, and tend to be passed down from one generation to another. (Thanks to the player of Kendra Rulyar!)

Fox and Geese

One player has 15 white geese, arranged on one side of a patterned board. The other player has one black fox, starting on the center of the board or on any space desired. The fox moves first, one step in any direction along the lines on the board to an adjacent empty spot. The fox may also jump, as in checkers, over a goose to an empty space immediately on the other side of the goose along the same straight line. The fox may make multiple jumps but is not required to jump. A jumped goose is removed from the board. The geese may move only along the lines one step at a time and may not move backwards. The geese may not jump. The goal of the geese is to pen in the fox so he cannot move. The goal of the fox is to take enough geese to prevent them from penning him up.

Goblin Ball

An old sport, popular with the farming folk of the Luminiian plains. Its history allegedly began with a stray goblin band finding themselves on the wrong side of the Skall Mts. They sought to raid a nearby farming community but encountered fierce resistance and were driven off. The most memorable part of this was that when a goblin discovered the hiding place of the village children, he was beaten back by a barrage of fruit, hurled by the frightened yet courageous children.

Now, the game is played not with fruit and vegetables but leather balls, three inches in diameter and generally stuffed with scraps of fabric. In a group of players, a couple or more are designated 'goblins,' according to the actual size of the group. When the goblin(s) touch one of the other players, that player is out and must sit down. However, if the goblin is struck three times by any of the balls thrown by the other players, they may choose one of the players who are out to return to the game. The game ends when there are more people out than in. This is a wild, rough game resulting in a number of bruises as well as uproarious fun.

Hooeyball

A Streylan tradition, Hooeyball was invented by Havoc Sadani (and company) one Drake Day to occupy his younger siblings. Or to combat his own boredom. Or to send the servants running. Or as an excuse to break things. (Obviously, the reason behind the invention is up to some debate.) It has since become a Drake Day tradition at Streylan Farm and has spread through the city and perhaps farther.

A ball of cloth, usually a scarf (which never fails to come untied during play and is therefore part of the fun), serves as the ball. Two goals (benches) are created on each side of the playing space, which may be a large room, a bailey, a field... There are two (usually, but that depends on the occasion) teams. The purpose is to get the 'ball' past your goal as often as possible. The rules are easy:

anyone over the age of six must remain on their knees
no biting
no magic
have fun

Anyone can play, from the two year old (though wise adults everywhere are encouraged to make sure their darling babies don't become the hooeyball...) to the 1200 year old; men, women, children; lower class, upper class, middle class. Yes, Tequin, even you can play... (Thanks to the player of Havoc Sadani!)

Horse Ball

Two groups of two, four, or six member mounted teams fight for possession of a ball with two handles on it. Points are scored by throwing the ball through a vertically positioned ring located atop a high pole. The winner is the team with the most goals scored in any set time agreed upon before the match.

Also, the player in possession of the ball must ride with his right arm stretched out, offering up the ball so the rival may have a chance to steal it or tug the ball out of possession. During the "tug" itself, both players need to be standing in their stirrups and avoid sitting in the saddle while the hand not involved in the "tug"must hold on to the reins. (Thanks to the player of Kendra Rulyar!)

Merels

A game for two, the board is marked with three concentric squares with peg holes on each corner and in the center of each side. Each player alternates placing their nine pegs on the board. If a player places three pieces in a row (called 'forming a mill'), one of their opponant's pieces is removed. Once all the pieces have been placed, players take turns moving any one peg to a vacant adjacent hole. If a player gets three pieces in a row, again, one of their opponant's pieces is removed. A player wins when only two of their opponant's pieces is left, or when their opponant is blocked from further moves.

Predator and Prey

From Southern Oceanuus: Three Predators in order of strength:

Orca (A smooth horizontal arch with another smaller one aligned vertically at the middle of the larger arch. An angle opens outward connected to the largest arch by a single dot)
Dolphin (A smooth horizontal arch with another smaller one aligned vertically at the middle of the larger arch. A line points out connected to the largest arch by a single dot)
Shark (A sideways diamond filled with notches with two dots above it and a line rising from between them)

Three Prey in order of strength:

Marlin (a smooth horizontal arch with a smaller one aligned vertically at the middle of the larger arch)
Tuna (a single line with an open mouth on the end)
Fry (a single line with a dot on the end)

Each stone is paired with a match on its opposite side: Orca/Marlin, Dolphin/Tuna, Shark/Fry.

Three stones are thrown up to land back down in a circle. Only the stones in the circle count. When three predators come up, they equal 3 points and three marbles are taken from the circle. When three prey come up, they equal 3 points and three marbles are taken from the circle. Any predator that comes up with a prey will eat that prey: its point no longer counts. 2 predators and 1 prey equals 2 points. 1 predator and 2 prey equals 2 points.

When two stones land upon each other, they quarrel. If a prey lands on a predator, it is equivalent to the prey not touching the predator; the predator eats the prey. If a predator lands on another predator, the stronger one eats it according to the hierarchy at the top of the list. If two predators land on another predator, then the two weakest ones are eaten. The same applies to prey as well.

A marble is removed for each point. The game ends when all of the marbles are taken from the circle. (Thanks to the player of Edail Archiras!)

Runes

Akin to dominoes, each person is dealt a certain number of rune-scriped tiles. After the first is laid down, turns are taken to keep building off of what has been played.

Runes can also be used for "fortune telling," where a person's future can supposedly be determined by drawing a certain number of Runes from a sack and laying them out in a pattern. The future, or answer to questions, whichever the occasion, is determined by what runes appear where. (Thanks to the player of Cris Kadec!)

Spectator Sports

Where there are horses, dogs, or people, there are races! There are also archery contests, hand-to-hand combat weapon matches (including swords, staffs, and stick-fighting [also known as cudgeling]), bare-knuckle boxing, kick-boxing, animal baiting, cockfights and the less-violent lawn-bowling and informal games of ball.

Stick Hit

This is more of an invention of children than anything else, very popular in the streets of Dreven and other major cities. It has very loose rules and requires very little equipment: just a thick stick, a rock or ball, and a large space with four corners. The object of the sport is simple as well. There are two teams, each person of each team receiving a chance to hit the rock. If the rock is hit, then the player must run and touch all four corners in order to score a point before the other team finds the rock.

TAGOK

The Aerial Game of Kylra-Catching is the full title, though it is better known as TAGOK. Kylra is the Seleventi word for 'soul,' meant to describe the free-flying soul of a Seleventi. In this game, there aren't actual souls, but five orbs that soar about randomly in a circular field of 130' in diameter. Two teams, consisting of two people, fly about on floating discs, trying to catch all the balls. Tackling, jumping onto other people's discs, and knocking other players off are all allowed. The game ends after an hour and a half or when all the balls have been caught. The team with the most balls in its possession wins.

Wrestling

A rough, physical sport consisting of two players. Each one utilizes various holds and techniques to force the other's shoulders onto the mat. In the official matches consisting of professional wrestlers sponsored by the nobles, this must be done within a five-minute time limit. If this cannot be done, the winner and loser are determined by a points given for various maneuvers executed.

There are basically two types of wrestling: freestyle and Pre-Icaran. Freestyle, the more modern version, allows the use of legs and holds beneath the waist. Pre-Icaran, dating back to times before the Silver Moon Empire, forbids the use of legs, either in defense or offense, and also disallows holds beneath the waist. Tackling, tripping, and leg-holds are against the rules.This type of wrestling is arguably the more difficult of the two.

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