Sponsored Post: Games That Were Invented In the Arab Culture
According to estimates, Arabs first began playing games more than 700 years ago. Before it entered the western world, it was taught by Chinese and Middle Eastern merchants. In this post, we’ll examine a few games that you could encounter when traveling in Middle Eastern nations.
Tavla
Backgammon, in a nutshell, but with a Middle Eastern twist. In actuality, backgammon is known as tavla in Turkey, and the rules are quite similar to those of Western backgammon that some of us may be acquainted with.
The goal of the game is to carry off all of your checkers after moving them into your own home board. The game is won by the first player to remove all of his checkers.
Dama
Dama is a game that has a long history in the area and is one of its most well-known forms. It’s a Middle Eastern variation of checkers, a straightforward strategic board game with differing rules from other varieties of chess.
Each person starts the game of Dama with 16 pieces on a hardwood board with 64 squares. As the game progresses, the player may gain or lose pieces to their opponent.
Mancala
There are hundreds of varieties of this game, all of which are played throughout Africa, the West Indies, India, and Arabia.
A board or playing surface, rows of holes or pits dug into the ground, and little stones or seeds are used in this two-player turn-based strategy game. Mancala’s objective is to take all or a certain number of your opponent’s stones. The word “mancala” comes from the Arabic verb “naqala,” which simply means “to move.”
Trix
A lot of Middle Eastern nations, including Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, enjoy playing the card game Trix.
Four players use a regular international 52-card deck sans the jokers to play the game of Trix. A, K, Q, J, and so on until 2 are the cards in each suit, and deal and play are done in the opposite direction of the clock.
Cards are first dealt one at a time after being shuffled, until each player receives 13 cards. The person who is dealt the 7 of hearts will “own the kingdom,” according to the first rule. The next contract is selected by this player, who also serves as the dealer for the following four deals.
Up until every player has taken a turn, players alternate who governs the kingdom. There are a total of five contracts. The first four are trick-taking games and are referred to as King of Hearts, Dinari, Banat, and Eltoosh, respectively (slapping). Trix, Contract 5, is a card game that is comparable to Card Dominoes in Western games but is not a trick-taking game. If you are a fan of Trix, then you may want to check out another world-famous card game known as Bingo at top online bingo sites.
Barjees
This “cross and circle” racing board game is complicated. Barjees originated in India but have since migrated to the Middle East and are now a staple of many family rituals. Each participant in this two-player game gets four pieces, which they must move all the way across the board. Barjees employ cowry shells rather than dice to decide the movements, and the game is often played on a cloth board.Final Thoughts
There is little doubt that the people of the Middle East certainly enjoy playing card games, especially the trick-taking varieties that require strategy.
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