Games

Games of Gor:

Bat and Ball: "In this contest there are two men on each side, and the object is to keep the ball out of the hands of the other team; no one man may hold the ball form more than the referee's count of twenty; he may, however, throw it into the air, provided it is thrown over his head, and catch it again himself; the ball may be thrown to the partner, or struck to him with the bat; the bat, of course, drives the ball with incredible force; the bats are of heavy wood, rather broad, and the ball, about two inches in diameter, is also of wood, and extremely hard; this is something like a game of "keep away" with two men in the middle."  Marauders of Gor pg 140
Bones: Each player, in turn, drops a bone, one of several in his supply. Each of the bones is carved to resemble an animal, such as an arctic gant, a northern bosk, a lart, a tabuk or sleen, and so on. The bone which remains upright is the winner. If both bones do not remain upright there is no winner on that throw. Similarly, if both bones should remain upright, they are dropped again. A bone which does not remain upright, if its opposing bone does remain upright, is placed in the stock of him whose bone remained upright. The game is finished when one of the two players is cleaned out of bones. Beasts of Gor pgs 184-185
Cat Cradle: Girls faced one another, kneeling, and, with string and their fingers, played an intricate cat's-cradle game. Northern girls, incidentally, were very skilled at this game. Captive of Gor pg 107
Dice: Gorean Dice are sold in sealed boxes, bearing the city's imprint. These, supposedly, have been each cast 600 times, with results approximating the ideal mathematical possibilities. Magicians of Gor pg 59

• larl's = maximum high (pg 60)
• one dice/one throw; odds of obtaining a larl 1 in 6
• two dice/one throw; odds of obtaining a larl 1 - 36
• three dice/one throw: odds of obtaining a larl 1 - 216 (rare throw)
• lowest value on a single die
• urt
• "Verr" is a decent throw
• does not beat larl's
• two dice in play
• verr and larl = 10 pts on numerical scale

Girl Catch: female slave is placed in an enclosure - hands bound behind back, hooded, belled (common bells at collar, wrist, and ankles) guide bell (with particular note) attached at left hip - men are added to enclosure - hooded or blindfolded (hunters and quarry are not permitted to see each other) - girl cannot remain still for more than a certain interval - usually a few ihn - controlled by referee and his whip - game or one of its rounds end when girl is caught - victors prize: use of the slave. Magicians of Gor pg 40
Kaissa: Gorean for "Game:" It is a general term, but when used without qualification, it stands for only one game. The game board, has red and yellow squares, with ten ranks and ten files, giving it a hundred squares. The pieces, twenty to a side, red and yellow, representing Spearmen, Tarnsmen, the Riders of the High Tharlarion, and so on. The object of the game is the capture of the opponent's Home Stone. Capturing of individual pieces and continuations take place much as in chess.

• men from many periods and cultures of Earth had been brought to Gor. With them they brought their customs, their skills, their habits, their games, which in time have undergone considerable modifications.
• chess with it’s fascinating history and development, as played on Earth, may actually have derived from a common ancestor with the gorean game, both of them perhaps tracing their lineage to some long-forgotten game, perhaps the draughts of Egypt or some primitive board game of India.
• Is extremely popular, there are numerous clubs and competitions among various castes, and cylinders; careful records of important games are kept and studied; lists of competitions and tournaments along with winners are filed in the Cylinder of Documents; there is even most gorean libraries, a section containing an incredible number of scrolls, pertaining to the techniques, tactics and strategy of the game.
• Almost all civilized Goreans, of any caste, play. Not unusual to find even children of twelve or fourteen who play with a depth and sophistication, a subtlety and brilliance that might be the envy of the chess Masters of Earth.

There are competitions of Players, with purses provided by amateur organizations, and sometimes by the city itself, and these purses are, upon occasion, enough to enrich a man, but most Players earn a miserable living by hawking their wares, a contest with a master, in the street. The odds are usually one to forty, one copper tarn disk against a forty-piece, sometimes against an eighty-piece, and sometimes the amateur who would play the master insists on further limitations, such as the option to three consecutive moves at a point in the game of his choice, or that the master must remove from the board, before the game begins, his two tarnsmen, or his Riders of the High tharlarion. Further, in order to gain Players, the master, if wise, occasionally loses a game, which is expensive at normal odds; and the game must be lost subtly, that the amateur must believe he has won.   Assassins of Gor pg 26 - 28

• Kaissa of the North differs in some respects from the tournament kaissa of the south. The games are quite similar. Kaissa was played differently in AR several years before. Most Gorean cities have accepted a standard tournament Kaissa, agreed upon by the high council of the cast of players. Sometimes changes were just semantics.  Beasts of Gor pg 43 - 44
• the piece in AR once called the "City" was now called the "Home Stone"
• no "Spear Slaves" in common Kaissa, though there are distinctions among "Spearmen" - it was argued slaves have no right upon the Kaissa board. It is a game for the Free, slaves are not permitted to play Kaissa.

Northern Kaissa:   Marauders of Gor pg 56 - 57

• similar to that of the south
• piece variances:
• instead of an Ubar, there is a Jarl (the most powerful piece)
• there is no Ubara, there is Jarl's Woman
• quite powerful
• more powerful than the southern Ubara
• Tarnsmen have been exchanged for Axes
• there are no Initiates, there are Rune Priests
• there are no Scribes, but a piece called Singer
• moves identically
• the spearmen moved identically with both North and South variations

Ubara's Gambit: Ubara’s Spearman to Ubara five.  Beasts of Gor pg 87

• one of the most wickedest and merciless moves in the repertoire of the game
• often played by tournament masters
• most common single opening
• difficult to meet, has no clear refutation
• may be accepted or declined

Telnus Defense: response to Ubara's Spearman to Ubara's Spearman Five (pg 98)

• named for the city of Centius' birth
• the capital and chief Port of Cos

Misc. Information:
Kaissa Matches at the Fair of En`Kara     Beasts of Gor

• Centius of Cos vs Scormus of Ar (pg 39)
• Philemon of Teletus vs Stengarius of Ti (pg 40)
• Hobart of Tharna vs Boris of Turia (pg 40)

Kaissa Match between Centius of Cos/Scormus of AR   Beasts of Gor pgs 87 - 98

• Tarl Cabot bid on the Centius of Cos/Scormus of AR kaissa match (pg 52)
• 1400 Tarns of Gold at 14 - 1 odds (pg 52)
• IF Scormus of Ar wins, Tarl Cabot gains 100 Golden Tarns (pg 53)

Meat Catch: slaves kneeling, abreast, hands bound behind their backs - bits of meat thrown, one after another - a catch 2 pts for the master - a missed piece can be scrambled for upon their bellies - 1 pt for the master of the slave who obtains it. Magicians of Gor pg 37
Soccer Game of the Red Hunters:   Beasts of Gor pg 193
"You spoiled her kick," said a man to me, in Gorean.
"I am sorry," I said.
The girl, with the other youths, had been playing a soccer-like game with the leather ball, with goals drawn in the turf. I had not realized, until too late, that I had been traversing the field of play.
Stones: a guessing game in which one player must guess whether the number of stones held in the fist of the second player is odd or even. Outlaw of Gor pg 186; set usually at 50 points - one point for a correct guess - one guesses correctly, may guess again - incorrect guess, he holds the stones, opponent guesses - many variations - stones are often tiny pebbles - can be beads or gems. Magicians of Gor pg 34

Games

Ball and Quiva:

Tuchuk children play with a cork ball. One throws the ball, while the other attempts to strike it with a quiva.

Bat and Ball:

There are two men on each side, and the object is to keep the ball out of the hands of the other team. No one man may hold the ball for more than the referee’s count of twenty. He may throw it into the air, over his head, and catch it again himself. The ball may be thrown to a partner or struck to him with the bat. The bat drives the ball with incredible force. This is something like a game of "keep away" with two men in the middle.

The first "knock off" is when the ball is served to the enemy. A man can be hit by a ball driven from the opponent’s bat. This is a common trick. It is very difficult to intercept or protect oneself from a ball struck with great speed from a short distance. There is a variation similar to ice hockey using paddles and played on ice.

Ball Toss:

There is a cloth ball, stuffed with rags, that is thrown about.

Bean Race:

Several slaves are lined up on hands and knees. Each must push a bean with her nose across a finish line yards away. Men commonly place bets on the race.

Bones:

Each player, in turn, drops a bone, one of several in his supply. Each of the bones is carved to resemble an animal, such as an arctic gant, a northern bosk, a lart, a tabuk or sleen, and so on. The bone which remains upright is the winner. If both bones do not remain upright there is no winner on that throw.

If both bones should remain upright, they are dropped again. A bone which does not remain upright, if its opposing bone does remain upright, is placed in the stock of the one whose bone remained upright. The game is finished when one of the two players is cleaned out of bones.

Cat's Cradle:

This is similar to the Earth finger string game. Girls face one another while kneeling. With string arranged around their fingers, they create intricate designs. Northern girls are very skilled at this game.

Cups and Pebbles:

Similar to Earth's "shell game," this game involves guessing. Small, inverted metal cups are used. A coin, pebble, or small object is supposedly placed beneath one of the cups. They are then moved about, rapidly. The odds are with the “house,” so to speak, especially when the coin or pebble is not placed under one of the cups. This is a game that lends itself well to slight-of-hand manipulations.

Dice:

There are numerous forms of dice games played on Gor. Many games are commonly played with from one to five dice. The knucklebones of a verr are usually used to create dice. They then have their marks painted on them. This is done to try to make sure that they are fair.

Scooping out numbers on the side may not be fair, since the amounts scooped out may not be equal, meaning the dice will not roll fairly. Some do try to scoop out equal amounts. Some cities make these type of dice and sell them in sealed boxes. The dice have supposedly been cast 600 times and their results were close to mathematical probability. Loaded dice are used by some unscrupulous people.

Each number on a die is called by the name of an animal though not all of these names were given in the books. "Larl" is the maximum high on the die rolled, basically a six. An "urt" is the lowest value, a one. A "verr" would equal a roll of a four. A "sleen" exists but it is not stated what value it represents. There are two unknown animal designations as well.

Girl Catch:

This is a popular game played in a variety of ways on Gor. It can be informal or very formal. In the basic game, a slave girl is hooded and belled. She is then let loose for hooded men to seek and capture. It is forbidden for the girl to stand still for a certain interval, commonly a few Ihn. She is under the control of a referee who uses a switch to encourage her to move and to mark her position.

Slaves try to hone their evasive skills in this game and some girls get quite skilled at it. In another form of the game, it requires one hundred men and one hundred women. The object is to capture as many women as possible and place them into your Girl Pit while protecting your own women. In these large games, free women often play.

Kaissa:

This is probably the favorite board game on Gor. The word "kaissa" is the general Gorean word for "game." But, when used without qualification, it means only one game, Gorean chess. It is played similar to Earth chess, the object being to capture one's opponent's Home Stone. Almost all civilized Goreans, of whatever caste, play Kaissa. There are many clubs and competitions. Most libraries have many scrolls on strategy and techniques.

Meat Catch:

Slave girls are knelt in a line, hands bound at their backs. Each slave, one at a time, is thrown a piece of meat. If the girl catches it, her Master scores two points. If the meat is missed, all girls scramble on their bellies for it, the winner scoring one point for her Master. Men commonly bet upon the game.

Soccer Game of the Red Hunters:

The game is similar to soccer. A leather ball is used with goals established, either drawn, set or agreed upon. Groups of people play the ball to the opposition's goal in order to score.

Spear Throw:

This seems to be a martial skill game involving the distance a spear is thrown.

Staff Contest:

A contest where men spar with staffs.

Stones:

This is also known as guess stones. It is a guessing game where a certain number of stones are held in the hand, usually two to five, and you must guess the number. You get a point for a correct guess and you can then try again. If you guess wrong, your opponent gets a turn. The game ends when one person reaches a set number of points, usually fifty. There are many variations of this game. It may also be done by guessing even or odd number of stones.

Any small objects may be used such as stones, beads or even gems. There are even intricately carved and painted game boxes containing carefully wrought "stones" for the affluent enthusiast. The game is not simply an idle past time. There are numerous psychological subtleties and strategies involved. Tournaments are held and certain people are known as champions at the game. Entire estates have been known to change hands over a game.

Tag:

Much like the Earth game.

Wineskin Balance: A wineskin is filled with wine and greased. Men try to stand, balanced, on it for an ehn. The winner, who accomplishes this, gets the wine. Sometimes, the winner may have a choice of prizes. There is a small fee to play, usually a tarsk bit.

Zar:

This is a board game common in the Tahari. It bears some similarities to the Earth game of checkers. Zar uses a Kaissa board but the pieces are placed only on the intersections of the lines. Each player has nine pieces, of equal value, which are originally placed on the intersections of the board's edge closest to the player. The corners are not used in placement.

The pieces are commonly pebbles, sticks or bits of verr dung. Pieces move one intersection at a time unless jumping. One may jump an opponent's pieces or one's own. A jump must be made to an unoccupied point. Multiple jumps are permitted. The object of the game is to effect a complete exchange of the original placements. The first person to do so wins.