I was hanging out at my boyfriend’s parent’s home after finals and as I was pondering ideas for my final article of the semester I got tossed into a game of “Chit-Chat.” Ever heard of it? Yeah me neither. As I played this card game I discovered not only a fun little past-time, but I also had a realization that procrastinating can help one come up with ideas for articles. Hence I started thinking about what other games people may play to help past the time, not just here in Michigan, but all over the world, and not just here in the now, but years ago. I mean let’s be honest, summer is basically here and whether or not you are taking classes, working, or both… or neither, there is bound to be some down time where you need something to satisfy your boredom’s appetite. And whether it’s playing these soon to be mentioned games, or sharing the random knowledge you are about to learn, this article will help ease your need for stuff to do.
After I lost twice in my game of Chit-Chat I started doing a little research about the evolution of games, and come to find out that it wasn’t such an anomaly when at age eight I moved from Indiana to Minnesota and my Duck, Duck, Goose had turned into Duck, Duck, Grey Duck. It just so happens that although there are many universal games, for the most part each country and region tends to have not only their own games, but, interestingly enough, their own take on many popular games. For instance, the game of Chit-Chat that I just recently learned in Minnesota, when I asked my boyfriend’s parent’s where they learned it from his mom stated that she was taught by her French grandmother and that close friends of theirs who grew up in Minnesota also play this card game except they refer to it as “Thirty-One”. When I tried to find information about this game online I found no card game called Thirty-One and the info on the game of Chit-Chat was something totally different than what I had just played. I found myself pondering just what other games may be out there.
In my opinion the best kind of games that exist the world over are “pub games.” Especially during the summer, as college students (I feel it safe to say) many of us will be spending our time with friends at pubs, or bars or what have you, and there is nothing better when in these locals than getting your friends together and playing some bar games. We all know about the game of darts, you can find it in any typical pub anywhere you go. It’s definitely a universal game. What is interesting though is it can be traced all the way back to the fairgrounds in England before the 1800’s. According to tradegames.org there are other “popular” pub games with similar beginnings and these, although not popular in the states if you venture to Europe you may run into them. Skittles is an English game quite similar to bowling, but it is played in pubs so is obviously on a smaller and simpler scale. The game of Skittles is like my childhood game of Duck, Duck, Goose in the sense that it varies in the many different areas of Europe. As is the case with many of the “ancestors” of games we find here in the United States.
The table game of billiards, aka “pool” also started in Europe. It was widely popular in England and France and in the 1600’s it began appearing in all sorts of different forms all throughout the American colonies. Pool as we know it today is definitely part of the early melting pot of American culture, yet if you travel abroad today you can still find the ancestors of American pool. For instance, in places like France, you can find Carambole which has many of the same features of pool, but is slightly less sophisticated, (you can find more information at tradegames.org). Danish Pin Billiards is an offshoot of the Italian Pin Billiards (ancestor to the American game of pool) and if you ever find yourself in Denmark hitting up the local pubs you may very well find this game being played. The table looks like your average pool table but the pieces of the game only include three balls and there are five pins set in the center of the table. It could come across very odd indeed for someone who has never seen the game.
Looking deep into both the beginnings of our well known games here in the states, and at the related games that are just as popular in other areas of the world it could very well add to your culture shock when traveling outside the US. From card games, to pub games, table games and so many more it’s incredible to think that all of the games that exist today started somewhere and in many cases they slowly migrated and evolved almost in the same manner as Darwin’s evolution theory. Some traveled and evolved from one side of the ocean to another changing greatly, but leaving many differing forms of the same species as it migrated while others like my Duck, Duck, Goose and Duck, Duck, Grey Duck dilemma I experienced as a child differ only slightly from region to region. There is so much more information about the history and differences of games around the world. I found myself filling my moments of boredom this weekend with reading more about them. You can learn a lot by checking out tradegames.org and if this knowledge doesn’t get you in the mood to cure your boredom with a little game of Chit-Chat, or some darts, then at the very least it’ll score you some points when spouting off random knowledge to your friends while you are out and about enjoying your summer.
Sources:
http://www.tradgames.org.uk/