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Morra is a hand game that dates back thousands of years to ancient Roman and Greek times. Each player simultaneously reveals their hand, extending any number of fingers, and calls out a number. Any player who successfully guesses the total number of fingers revealed by all players combined scores a point.
Morra can be played to decide issues, much as two people might toss a coin, or for entertainment.
While there are many variations of Morra, most forms can be played with a minimum of two players. In the most popular version, all players throw out a single hand, each showing zero to five fingers, and call out their guess at what the sum of all fingers shown will be. If one player guesses the sum, that player earns one point. The first player to reach three points wins the game.
Some variants of Morea involve money, with the winner earning an amount equal to the sum of fingers displayed.
Morra was known to the ancient Romans and is popular around the world, especially in Italy. In ancient Rome, it was called micatio, and playing it was referred to as micare digitis; literally, "to flash with the fingers". [1] As time passed, the name became morra, a corruption of the verb micare.[ dubious ] The game was so common in ancient Rome that there was a proverb used to denote an honest person which made reference to it: dignus est quicum in tenebris mices, literally, "he is a worthy man with whom you could play micatio in the dark". Micatio became so common that it came to be used to settle disputes over the sale of merchandise in the Roman forum. This practice was eventually banned by Apronius, prefect of the city. The game followed Roman colonists as they spread through Europe, the Near East and North Africa. The game is also mentioned by Aristotle, but it seems that it has not been very common in Greece. [2]
Today, morra can be found throughout Italy (notably in Sardinia, where it is called sa murra), Greece, the Province of Teruel in Spain, Corsica, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Istria, [3] Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Malta. There is also a variant in Spain called "Chinos" where coins are used instead of fingers. Morra played in Arab countries is called mukharaja. In southern France it is called la mourre, while in Istria, Dalmatia and Herzegovina it is called šijavica. In China and Mongolia it is called hua quan, which translates as "fist quarrel", [4] and is played as a drinking game. [5] It is also popular in South and North American communities with large Italian populations, sometimes known as "Little Italy" in their area. In the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, an annual tournament is held in February. Money raised during the tournament is given to a local charity associated with Helping Hands.[ citation needed ]
In 2005, the IFC, short for Italian Fingers Championship, became an official tournament for a modified version of Morra that is played in teams. [6]
The game of morra is described on the images in the Theban tombs of MK, Beni Hassan (tomb 9) and the 26th dynasty tomb of Aba (number 36). [7]
In 2010 and 2014 A. Zizi, professor at the IT Giua high school of Cagliari, created, along with his students, a digital version of the Sardinian version of the game. [8]
The rules for morra can be altered in several ways.
In this two-player version one person is designated the "odds" player while the other is labeled "evens". Players hold one hand out in front of them and count together to three (sometimes chanting "Once, twice, thrice, shoot!" or "One, two, three, shoot!"). On "shoot", both players hold out either one or two fingers. If the sum of fingers shown by both players is an even number (i.e. two or four) then the "evens" player wins; otherwise the "odds" player is the winner. Since there are two possible ways to add up to three, both players have an equal chance of winning.
In New York City and Long Island in the 1950s, the game was called "chooses", and would be invoked to resolve a playground dispute by one antagonist saying, "let's shoot for it". In Boston at about the same time, the term in use was "bucking up". In US Coast Guard wardrooms (officer's mess), players "shake out". It has also been referred to as "odds-on poke".
One variant of the game is to allow players to hold out any number of fingers, with the winner still based on whether the resulting sum is odd or even. For example, if there are two players and they each throw out five fingers, the resulting summation is even, so the "evens" player is the winner. Note, since only the parity of the sum matters, there is no functional difference between using only 2 or 4 fingers, etc.
However, if the numbers of fingers which each player may use is an odd number, and if the players pick their numbers uniformly at random from all possibilities, then the probabilities of the pairings being odd or even are not equal and the "evens" player will have a slight advantage. As an example, if players may use up to three fingers (and must choose 1, 2, or 3 with equal probability), then there are 5 ways to make an even pairing (1–1, 1–3, 3–1, 2–2, 3–3) but only 4 ways for an odd pairing (1–2, 2–1, 2–3, 3–2). With an odd number of permitted fingers, the "evens" player will have a slight advantage as there will always be one more way to make an even number, except in the extreme case of one finger each where the "evens" player cannot lose.[ citation needed ]
Micatio is a variation of morra that attempts to lessen the element of chance by including the sight and speed of the player, a calculation of probabilities, and a certain psychological flair. In micatio the two players "each raise the fingers of the right hand, varying each time the number raised and the number kept down, and call aloud the total of the fingers raised by both", until one player wins the round by guessing correctly. [9] Winning the round earns the player one point. If the numbers thrown do not match the numbers shouted, no point is scored.
Additionally:
Micatio is also played in competitions with four-person teams. Team members compete one at a time, facing their opponent. Each team member plays four times, and a match consists of eleven points.
Micatio is still popular today in southern Italy, [10] and dates to Ancient Rome. [11]
Ones-and-twos is an elimination variant of the game, requiring more than two people. It is essentially a simplified version of rock–paper–scissors with only two choices. The loser is the "odd man out", or the minority choice in the case of large groups. For example: if there are ten players, and six happen to hold out two fingers while four hold out one finger, the four people holding one finger lose and are eliminated. The remaining six players move on to play another round. In this variant, the last round (between two players) is usually decided in the traditional manner.
This version can be played with any number of people, and is usually faster and easier than dealing with three variable combinations, as it eliminates the need for round robin tournaments.
A popular variant is often used to gamble for coffee. The aim is to be a part of the minority and be eliminated. Rounds continue till two people remain and they then play rock–paper–scissors. The loser of the "showdown" then purchases coffees for all players. Depending on the rule set coffees can be sometimes substituted for food or other beverages of a similar, agreed upon value.
League tables are often created and thorough statistical analysis applied in an attempt to enhance play. However the effect of such analysis on outcomes is disputed.
The game can be expanded for a larger number of players by using modular arithmetic. For n players, each player is assigned a number from zero to n−1. On the count of three, each player holds out any number of fingers less than n, including zero. The person whose number is the remainder of the sum is chosen.
In this variant it is common to arrange all players in a circle, assign someone to be player zero and assign numbers to other players counting upwards in a direction (usually clockwise). With this arrangement, once players throw out their numbers, they leave their hands in place and close their fingers one at a time as counting moves around the circle. When no fingers are left, the final player counted is selected.
Some variants of morra allow players to hold out zero fingers. If the total number of fingers is also equal to zero, the game is usually counted as a draw and replayed. [12]
Shish-Nu is a variation of Morra where the rules are to hold out fists and stick out your thumbs only. The game works best with a large number of players. The game is played by every player holding out their fists with no thumbs raised. Then, all players say "Shish-Nu" and then the number of thumbs they guess will be up. The number correlates to the number of players in the game as well.
Chin Chin is a variant most closely related to Shish-Nu, the main difference being that Chin Chin is more turn-based. Chin Chin is most popular in the US.
To play Chin Chin players hold out their fists with no thumbs raised. Turns go clockwise around the group and the player whose turn it is shouts "Chin Chin" and a number. Immediately players put up a random number of thumbs. If the player correctly shouts the number of thumbs up in the group he wins the round and places a hand behind his back. This repeats and the person who is first to lose both hands wins.
Fifteen-Twenty is an old Chinese variant of morra with numerous variations of its own played in different parts of Asia. Two players face off in this game with both of their hands in front of them, face-to-face. Players take turns guessing the number of total fingers that are shown each round. Players can hold out either two fists (0), a fist and an open hand (5), or two open hands (10). As such, the total number of fingers that can be guessed is 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20.
When a player makes a guess (a round), both players can change the number of fingers currently being held up. If the previous player made a wrong guess, the opponent can immediately start the new round and make a new guess without delay (sometimes catching the other player off guard before they are able to change their fingers). If a player guesses correctly, he immediately gets to guess again. Guessing correct on the second try wins the game. If a player makes an impossible guess, (e.g. guessing 20 but only putting in a fist and a palm for 5 points) then that person gets a strike. Two strikes would result in a point for the other player.
Rock paper scissors is an intransitive hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock", "paper", and "scissors". The earliest form of "rock paper scissors"-style game originated in China and was subsequently imported into Japan, where it reached its modern standardized form, before being spread throughout the world in the early 20th century.
Charades is a parlor or party word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the whole phrase together, while the rest of the group guessed. A variant was to have teams who acted scenes out together while the others guessed. Today, it is common to require the actors to mime their hints without using any spoken words, which requires some conventional gestures. Puns and visual puns were and remain common.
Triominoes is a variant of dominoes using triangular tiles published in 1965. A popular version of this game is marketed as Tri-Ominos by the Pressman Toy Corp.
Shut the box is a game of dice for one or more players, commonly played in a group of two to four for stakes. Traditionally, a counting box is used with tiles numbered 1 to 9 where each can be covered with a hinged or sliding mechanism, though the game can be played with only a pair of dice, pen, and paper. Variations exist where the box has 10 or 12 tiles.
Carrom is a tabletop game of Indian origin in which players flick discs, attempting to knock them to the corners of the board. The game is very popular in the Indian subcontinent, and is known by various names in different languages. In South Asia, many clubs and cafés hold regular tournaments. Carrom is commonly played by families, including children, and at social functions. Different standards and rules exist in different areas. It became very popular in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth during the early 20th century. It also became popular in the United Arab Emirates and the rest of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian peninsula during the Arab-Indian spice trade.
21, Bagram, or Twenty Plus One is a drinking game. The game progresses by counting up from 1 to 21, with the player who calls "21" suffering a drinking penalty before the next round starts. The loser may add 1 new rule to the game, and starts the new round.
Hand games are games played using only the hands of the players. Hand games exist in a variety of cultures internationally, and are of interest to academic studies in ethnomusicology and music education. Hand games are used to teach music literacy skills and socio-emotional learning in elementary music classrooms internationally.
Spoof is a strategy game, typically played as a gambling game, often in bars and pubs where the loser buys the other participants a round of drinks. The exact origin of the game is unknown, but one scholarly paper addressed it, and more general n-coin games, in 1959. It is an example of a zero-sum game. The version with three coins is sometimes known under the name Three Coin.
Matching pennies is a non-cooperative game studied in game theory. It is played between two players, Even and Odd. Each player has a penny and must secretly turn the penny to heads or tails. The players then reveal their choices simultaneously. If the pennies match, then Even wins and keeps both pennies. If the pennies do not match, then Odd wins and keeps both pennies.
Odds and evens is a simple game of chance and hand game, involving two people simultaneously revealing a number of fingers and winning or losing depending on whether they are odd or even, or alternatively involving one person picking up coins or other small objects and hiding them in their closed hand, while another player guesses whether they have an odd or even number. The game may be used to make a decision or played for fun.
Finger binary is a system for counting and displaying binary numbers on the fingers of either or both hands. Each finger represents one binary digit or bit. This allows counting from zero to 31 using the fingers of one hand, or 1023 using both: that is, up to 25−1 or 210−1 respectively.
A unique bid auction is a type of strategy game related to traditional auctions where the winner is usually the individual with the lowest unique bid, although less commonly the auction rules may specify that the highest unique bid is the winner. Unique bid auctions are often used as a form of competition and strategy game where bidders pay a fee to make a bid, or may have to pay a subscription fee in order to be able to participate.
Stick gambling is a traditional hand game played by many indigenous people, with the rules varying among each group. It would typically be played when diverse groups met on the trail. Games could last for several days during which prized matches, shot, gunpowder, or tobacco would be staked. Traditionally, only men would take part. However in modern games, both genders are able to play. The Yukon Territory First Nations in Canada holds many annual hand games, or stick gambling tournaments, in which both genders play.
Chopsticks is a hand game for two or more players, in which players extend a number of fingers from each hand and transfer those scores by taking turns tapping one hand against another. Chopsticks is an example of a combinatorial game, and is solved in the sense that with perfect play, an optimal strategy from any point is known.
Traditional Filipino games or indigenous games in the Philippines are games that are played across multiple generations, usually using native materials or instruments. In the Philippines, due to limited resources for toys, children usually invent games that do not require anything but players. There are different kinds of Filipino traditional games which are well-suited for kids, and the games also stand as one of the different cultural and traditional games of the Philippines. Due to the variety of skills used in these games, they serve an important purpose in the physical and mental development of Filipino children. These games are also an important part of Filipino culture.
Finger-counting, also known as dactylonomy, is the act of counting using one's fingers. There are multiple different systems used across time and between cultures, though many of these have seen a decline in use because of the spread of Arabic numerals.
Guts is a comparing card game, or family of card games, related to poker. Guts is a gambling game involving a series of deals of 2, 3, or 4 cards. Hand are ranked similarly to hands in poker. The betting during each deal is simple : all players decide whether they are "in" or "out", and announce this at the same time. Each deal has its own showdown, after which the losers match or increase the pot, which grows rapidly. A round of the game ends when only one person stays in and wins the pot.
Horsengoggle is a method of selecting a random person from a group. Unlike some other methods, such as rock paper scissors, one of the features of horsengoggle is that there is always a winner; it is impossible to tie.
Fingers or finger spoof is a drinking game where players guess the number of participating players who will keep their finger on a cup at the end of a countdown. A correct guess eliminates the player from the game and ensures they will not have to drink the cup. The last person in the game loses and must consume the cup contents. The cup could be a pint glass, pitcher, or other vessel that is filled with a sip or small sample of all players' own beverage prior to the start of the game.
Odds and evens may refer to: