Games on Pern
Games on Pern
Written by Sia
Children's Games
Some examples of playground games; this is a non-exhaustive list, and members are free to make their own games for their characters to play. This list only includes Pernese or Pern-ish titles for games.
Hop-it
Similar to terran hopscotch. Played primarily by young children, a court can be scratched out in the dirt or drawn with chalk on stone. Designs vary, but the court is usually a series of one or two squares. Children toss a marker onto a square and must hop around. Their turn ends If the child lands on a line, hops outside the court, or loses their balance. (As seen in The Masterharper of Pern)
Call/Reponse
Similar to terran Marco Polo, one player is chosen as "it". That player, either with closed eyes or blindfolded, tries to find and tag any one of the other players, relying on hearing to find someone to tag. This can be played both as a water activity and on land. Names being called may change based on region or local figures. Due to the time that's passed between the events of the books, characters may not ICly recognize the names outside of one or two ballads or histories. Some fun potential names could include:
- Riser/Chaser
- Green/Blue, Gold/Bronze
- Barrier/Lake, Dolphin/Cove, etc
- Panitath/Loseth
- Lessa/F'lar
- Moreta/Alessan
Stealing Sticks
Similar to terran Capture the Flag, Stealing Sticks requires a playing field that can be divided into two clearly designated halves. Players form two teams, one for each territory. Each side has an agreed upon number of "sticks" (but can be hats, coats, pencils, or whatever other knick knack one has on hand) that must be retrieved by the opposing team in order to win. Nighttime games may use glowbaskets or lanterns as the "sticks". Players "tagged" on the opponents' side are made 'holdless' until another teammate can bring them home.
Grandmother's Footsteps
One person starts as the "grandmother" and stands at the end of an open space. Everyone else playing stands at the far end. The objective of the game is for the children to tag the grandmother, thereby becoming the grandmother and resetting the game. The grandmother turns their back to the field, and the "children" attempt to race across. Whenever the grandmother turns around, the children must freeze in position and hold for as long as the grandmother looks at them. If a child is caught moving, they are sent back to the starting line to begin again or eliminated.
Tabletop & Card Games
Some examples of playground games; this is a non-exhaustive list, and members are free to make their own games for their characters to play (such as skiing and rock climbing).
Dragonpoker
Dragonpoker is a popular card game where players wager over which hand is the best. The rules of the game vary from place to place. The first round of betting begins with one or more players making some form of a forced bet based on how good they believe their hand is compared to other players. Players may match, raise the bet, or back out (or "fold"). Play continues until the maximum number of bets is reached or until one player remains. Cards only need to be revealed if more than one player is left after the final round of betting.
Chess
Chess is an abstract strategy game played on a square 8x8 grid. The players, referred to as the colours of the pieces, each control sixteen pieces: one Lord, one Lady, two Holds, two Runners, two Stewards, and eight pawns. The game is won by capturing the opponent's Lord (or threatening with inescapable capture). There are several ways a game can end in a draw. This game can be highly competitive or friendly, and many holders in the Southern Continent have built outdoor spaces to accommodate chess games. Each piece has its own way of moving and capturing other pieces.
Dragonchess
Related to chess, Dragonchess pieces are based on Weyr ranks and strategy more closely resembles Threadfighting Wings than typical chess. The board is layered so that sections are elevated above and below the main board in order to mimic dragons flying.
Pieces include Wingriders (pawns), Leader (Holder), Second (Steward), Third (Runner), Weyrleader (Lady) and Weyrwoman (Lord).
Backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player game that relies on both strategy and luck. Each player has fifteen pieces known as "stones". The stones move along twenty-four points according to the roll of two dice. The objective is to move all the pieces around the board and then remove them. Pieces may be moved along the board according to the number rolled on the dice, with doubles allowing for double movement. Stones may be captured by an opposing stone landing in the same space as a singular piece.
Cribbage
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game for 2-4 players that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. The points are tracked with brightly coloured pegs across a small board. The first player to make it to 121 points is the winner.
Each player is dealt six cards. They then choose two cards from their hand to put face down into the crib. The crib belongs to the dealer and affect how many points a player can get in later parts of the game. The dealer then cuts the deck and reveals the top card. Play then begins by players laying down cards and counting their value up to 31. Once players reach the closest to 31 they can without going over, they begin again until no cards are left. The player who laid down the last card scores a point. Additional points may be scored based on how cards are played against each other, such as pairs and runs.
Sports
Or, organized play
Waterball
Written by Eimi
Waterball is very similar to Terran Water Polo. It is played in a bay, cove or lake. There are boundaries to the playing field that are more often agreed upon than marked (thus they can be fudged on a bit, with the exception being no action behind the net, period). It is played with an inflated ball and two floating nets on either side of the playing "field" which are tied down to rocks at the bottom to assure they won't float away.
Start: The game starts with both teams line up on their side of the "field". One team throws the ball off to the other team and play begins.
Scoring: A team scores a goal when they can get the ball past the goalie and defenders and into the opposing team's net. They can do this any way they like: throwing (most effective), swimming it straight in, or pushing it in. For getting the ball into the net area, they score one point. After a point is scored, the scoring team tosses the ball to the opposing team (much like at the start of the game).
End of the Game: The game ends when one team reaches the agreed upon score, OR when the agreed upon time has elapsed. The team with the most points wins.
Other rules: No biting, scratching, intentional grabbing/touching of personal parts or punching. Anything else, short of drowning or causing personal damage, is legal. What happens under the water cannot be determined effectively, so basically under the water line, anything goes (aside from the aforementioned which generally leave marks and can be determined).
Football
Football is a team sport of usually ten players per team whose primary goal is to use their feet to move a ball around a rectangular field with ground-level netting at each end. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by maneuvering the ball around the opposing team and kicking the ball into the net. Players may intercept or steal the ball at any time, though they are only allowed to use their feet and any use of their hands or arms (for touching the ball or shoving an opponent) are against the rules. The person defending the net (the goalie) is allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body as long as the ball is reasonably close to the net.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport of usually five players each opposing each other on a rectangular playing field. Both far ends of the field have a wooden hoop or basket suspended about ten feet in the air. The main goal of the game is for a team to get close enough to shoot the ball through the defender's hoop or basket. The team is granted more points based on how far away a shot is made, up to three points for a far shot. Players usually advance across the field by bouncing the ball while walking or running, or by passing to a teammate, though the quality of the ball or field may mean that the ball can only be moved by passing to other teammates. Balls may be stolen or intercepted from players, though roughhousing is typically discouraged.
Hockey
Hockey is a fast-paced team sport of about six players on each team. Players maneuver a small ball across the field using curved sticks. The name hockey supposedly comes from the 'hook' at the end of the stick, though no one knows for certain. Colder climates where skating is popular have a variation of the game on ice where the ball has been replaced by a wooden disk.
Airball
Popular in the Weyrholds pre-Threadfall, airball is a team sport where dragonriders maneuver a brightly-colored ball through the air by throwing it to their wingmates using a stick with a net on one end. The stick allows for dragonriders to throw the ball the distance needed between dragons. Airball was popular during The Dragonrider Games during The Interval as it used less resources than drills with fake Thread. It remains a fun and strategic exercise in the Weyrs to promote teamwork and camaraderie. Weyrlings learn the sport to practice difficult airborne maneuvers and to learn how to multitask in high-stress situations. Loosely based on lacrosse.
Setup: The size of the teams vary across the Weyrs, with anywhere from 5 to 10 on a team being standard. On a five person team, the colour scheme is usually one bronze, one brown, and three blues/greens, though variations exist and teams may alternate colours and players as a tactical strategy.
Start: The opposing teams start at the center of the playing area. The referee drops the ball from above and whoever catches it begins play. Players can only fly with the ball for a predetermined amount of time before tossing to another player. Balls can be intercepted mid-throw. Dragons can also bully each other in the air to try and get their rider to drop the ball or throw poorly, allowing another to intercept.
Scoring: There is no "net", being an airborne sport, but a predetermined area of the air that the ball must reach without being caught or handled by the goalie or intercepted by a member of the opposing team. If caught by the goalie, the ball remains in play and is thrown back out. A goalie may leave the scoring area, but must be replaced by a teammate immediately.
End of the Game: The game ends when one team reaches the agreed upon score, or when the agreed upon time has elapsed. The team with the most points wins.
Betweening Rules: Betweening is discouraged amongst weyrlings and new riders due to the fast-paced style of the game and to prevent accidents, though it is allowed if a dragonrider needs to get out of a dangerous maneuver. Betweening is allowed in high-level play, though a dragonrider cannot /between/ while they are in possession of the ball.
Other rules: Dragons cannot bite or claw each other, and dragonriders who allow their dragon to do so are removed from play. Dropping the ball does not end play unless it hits the ground.
Variations of Airball: Holders have created their own version of airball by using the sticks to toss the ball to each other and manually running across the field to score (Stickball/Lacrosse). There is also a variation where runnerbeasts are used instead of dragons (Runnerball/Polo).
