POPULAR CARD GAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PT. 6

OVERVIEW

Welcome back to Popular Card Games from Around the World. In this article, we have some interesting places and games to dive into. This week I researched into Serbia and a local game called Sedmice. I also went diving into the web to find some interesting facts about Samoa and the regional favorite Suipi.

SERBIA

I had an absolute blast learning about Serbia and its people. It has such a rich history and beautiful culture that I struggled to decide what all to put in this article for my readers. I highly recommend researching more if you are interested in the game, or any of the information I share with you.

Serbia is a central/southeastern European country. The people there are some of the friendliest in the world. From what I have read tourists can expect to be treated with kindness and hospitality. They have a rich culture and are well known for their brandy, which is often homemade with family recipes, and their luxuries handmade rugs. From the cityscapes to the countryside, the whole of Serbia has a wonderous feel to it.

Sedmice is a 2 or 4-player trick-taking card game. Players play in partnerships of 2 players if playing with four or just as opponents in 2-player games. The goal of the game is to score 120 points over several rounds. This is accomplished by winning tricks and scoring points for aces and 10s won in them. Unlike most trick-taking games, you are not trying to play higher ranking cards to win tricks, but instead, play equally ranked cards or 7s which are trumps for this game.

SAMOA

Samoa is a country composed of several islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies between New Zealand and Hawaii in the Polynesian region of the ocean. First, I have to say it is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen. I am sure the pictures I have seen do the actual geography no justice. When I have envisioned paradise on Earth it looks strikingly like Samoa. They have such a beautiful country but that does not overshadow their incredible history and customs that the locals hold so dear.

Suipi is a favorite of the Samoan people. It is a deeply cultural game and most people are taught how to play it at a very early age. It can be played with 2 players or 4 in 2 teams. The game is played in two parts where the first half of the is dealt to players and a layout of 4 cards is revealed centrally.

The goal of the game is to take cards from the central layout. You can do this by matching a card rank with one in your hand or adding 2 or more cards in the center to equal a rank of card from your hand. These cards are then placed in a score pile for later. If a player is not able to do either action, they must instead place a card from their hand into the central layout. Once hands are empty, the second half of the deck is dealt, and the process is repeated.

It seems the most controversial part of this game is the scoring. Every family seems to have their way of scoring making playing outside of your family more difficult. It also makes Suipi tournaments near impossible.

CONCLUSION

There you have it two spectacular games from two breathtaking places. I hope this inspires someone out there to not only learn these games but to learn more about places they’ve never seen and maybe even spark a need to travel and experience this beautiful world we call home.