POPULAR GAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD PT.1 – OVERVIEW
The world is an incredibly diverse place with people from all walks of life conversing and sharing ideas and that’s truly beautiful. One of my favorite things about games, in general, is how diverse they can be and how you can really get a sense of a person by the games they enjoy.
To promote my love of diversity and share with you a bit of what the world has to offer, I’ve decided to start a mini-series of articles. I will be promoting some interesting and popular games from all around the world. I hope you enjoy and let me know of any games you might play that I may have never heard of. Variety is the spice of life and I’m looking to mix things up.
CANADA
In Canada a popular game amongst the prairie provinces is Kaiser. Kaiser is a card game played by four people in two teams with a 32-card deck. It has also been called Three-Spot in some parts of the country.
To play Kaiser you must separate a standard 52-card deck to include the 8 through Aces of each suite. Included also is the 7 of clubs, the 7 of diamonds, the 3 of spades and the 5 of hearts. All the cards are then dealt out 8 to each player.
Playing Kaiser is very similar to Euchre; it’s a trick-taking game. The trump card is determined by the kitty and the team with the most wins at the end takes the game. Fun stuff!
GREAT BRITAIN
Going across the sea to the country of beans and toast, Great Britain has a lot of wonderful games to share with the world. In fact, quite a few of the common games we play today originated in the Queen’s Land.
Today though we’re talking about Whist. Whist is actually based on an even earlier game, Ruffs, and Honors. It was most popular in the 16th Century and considering it’s lasted through the ages that should be testament enough for this game.
Whist is a trick-taking game, a favorite from all countries apparently, and requires four players. It uses a full standard 52-card deck and has the standard ranking system of Ace high. To play the game, players start by splitting into two teams of two and dealing cards.
The deal leaves each player with 13 cards, and the dealer reveals the last card as trump. Then play is similar to most other trick-taking games. Cards are played based on suites highest rank takes the trick. 13 rounds are played and the team with the most tricks wins the game.
CONCLUSION
Games are always fun and what makes them even better is the company you can share while enjoying them. There is no better way in my mind to share a good time and cross the bridge of differences than by sharing experiences and things you love with one another. I challenge all of you to take a game from your childhood and share with someone new. It might surprise you what you can learn about a person just by this one simple gesture.