Flecks of Varied Colors

Playing With Dice and Cards

MARCH 15, 2021 PROMPT
What’s your favorite board game or card game to play with friends?

Playing With Dice and Cards

         

Oh game! This one is a great topic I suppose. I'm glad it talks about cards and boards, otherwise I might not be able to write something. This is favorable to me since I'm more inclined into mental games than physical ones. I'm no good with balls and the like. Well, does anyone knows how to play Snake and Ladder? This was the board game we used to play with my sister and my aunt when I was little. It can be played with two or more players making it more fun and enjoyable. Players are represented by game pieces which the players will move at each turn after throwing a die. Here's how it is played:

The Snake and Ladder Game

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         Equipment
Snakes and Ladders board
1 die
Playing pieces


         Setup
Before the game can start each player will roll one die, the player who throws the highest number will be the one to have the first turn.


         Gameplay
The players will move their pieces from left to right, starting at 1, following the numbers on the board, then the next row from right to left and repeat. If a player rolls a 4, then the player would move their piece four places.


         Snakes
When a player lands on a top of a snake, their playing piece will slide down to the bottom of the snake. Whereas landing on the bottom of a snake the player will remain in the same spot until their next turn.


         Ladders
When a player lands at the base of a ladder, it immediately climbs to the top of the ladder. Whereas landing at the top of a ladder the player will stay there until the next turn. The player does not move to the bottom of the ladder.


         Winning the Game
The first player that reaches the highest space on the board, 100, wins the game. To win the player will need to roll the exact number to get you to the last space. If the player rolls a higher number than needed to land exactly on 100, their piece does not move and remains there until their next turn, when they can roll again.


         The Bounce Back Variation
The first player that reaches the highest space on the board, 100, wins the game. To win the player will need to roll the exact number to get to the last space. If the roll is too high, the player's piece will bounce off the last space and move back. For example, if a player had four spaces to get to 100 and rolled a 6, the piece will move four spaces to 100, then “bounce back" two spaces to 98.

         Or what about some educational board games like Damath and Sci-Damath? These were my favorites. The rules of these board games are similar to that of traditional Dama Board Game but these two involve computations which make them complicated to play. The traditional Dama is played by two people, each player must have 12 "pitsas"(pieces in dama) made from paper cut-outs, bamboo, stones or bottle caps. Each turn, a pitsa is move point to point but follows a diagonal movement unlike the game chess. Once all pitsas are captured, the game ends and a player with remaining pitsas wins. Damath however, is a combination of Dama and Mathematics while Sci-Damath involves Mathematical and Scientific operations thus making it more complex. I love math and these board games put me to a test. I remember on my high school days, I was once chosen to represent our school for an inter-high school Sci-Damath tournament. Although I wasn't lucky to win to contest, the experience was terrific. This was the great way to showcase may analytical and mathematical prowess.

         Now talking about cards, Solitaire was once my favorite past time. It's a very easy card game that doesn't requires multiple players making it suitable for players who wish to be alone while having fun. My grandmother once said that in playing Solitaire, I had to make a wish before setting up the cards in place. And if I am able to successfully complete the game, my wish would come true. Funny as it may seem but I am still doing what she said even until now whenever I play Solitaire. Virtual Solitaire (or that playable on PC) is an exception though.

         What about Tong-its? Oh well, I tried playing this. I also tried to gamble on this game with my friends and cousins. I had played lots of card games like Poker, Pusoy Dos, Uno, and many others which names I had already forgotten. They were mostly Filipino games so you might not heard of them.

         That's all for today. Thank you for reading. Cheers!