ABOUT GAMES
Games and Music
Those who know me, know that I am also an avid game player, as is my wife, Jen. Computer Games, Board Games, Word Games, you name it.
Skill at these kinds of games require a certain amount of mental exercise which is not entirely unlike music. Music Theory, in its base form,
is about the interplay of patterns and numbers. Music is very mathematical. Pattern recognition, logic, reading another person, and other common "game" skills are
all useful in music as well.
It should be no surprise, then, that many of the musicians I know are also game players. Not all musicians are game players and vice versa, but there is a high enough percentage, at least in my circle of acquaintances
to be able to make this assumption. (The actual coincidence rate of this is something that someone should do a study on some day.)
So, I decided to put a section up for games. These are, except where noted, games that you can print out and play. Give them a look and let me know what you think.
Please note you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader or some other program that opens PDF files.
You can get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free HERE
HISTORICAL GAMES
These games are ones that Jen and I have discovered through different means. They are games that have been played for
centuries, but have fallen somewhat out of common knowledge. Because the board design and rules are relatively simple, we decided to make our
own versions of the board to share with other people. Feel free to download these, print them out, and play a piece of history.
2-Player Games
Hneftafl
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, 37 PIECES (24 of one color, 12 of another, and 1 to serve as King)
This game is 2-player Norse board game, which has been dated back to as early as 400 AD. The name literally means "High Table" or "King's Table".
It was played extensively by different Norse cultures, in multiple variants, all over Northern Europe before Chess was imported from the east.
Hneftafl simulates a Viking raid. There are 2 sides - the Attackers and the Defenders. The Attackers are ranged around the outside and normally outnumber the Defenders. The Defenders are in place around
the center piece which is the King.
The Defenders objective is to allow the King to escape to safety. The Attackers must prevent this, by surrounding the King.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Fidchell
This is an Irish variant of Hneftafl. It is played on a 7X7 board instead of 11X11. (Variants of the game ranged from 7x7 to 19x19)
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
12 Man Morris
This game is one of the oldest board games known to man. Variants of this game have been dated back 3000 years, to Ancient Egypt.
This game is also known as Merrils. It is a deceptively simple game.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Ringo
This is not a game about the Beatles Drummer. This is an old German board game that is in the same
vein as Fidchell.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Fox and Geese
This is an old Scandinavian game. It is another form of Tafl game, such as Hneftafl or Ringo, where the sides are numerically uneven.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Multi-Player Games
Boodle
This card game is known alternately as Michigan, Stops and Newmarket. It was originally a form of non-betting gambling game.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Pope Joan
This card game is similar to Boodle. The strategy for this game can be a little bit different, since you don't have to play the lowest card in a suit, though some variants of the game state that you do.
Click on the links below to open images in a new window. You may then print them out through your browsers Print function.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, 25 PIECES (16 of one color, 8 of another, and 1 to serve as King)
This variant is a bit quicker, due to the smaller number of pieces and smaller playing surface, and gives more of an advantage to the Defender. The King need only escape to any outside edge.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, 24 PIECES (12 of one color, 12 of another)
Players take turn placing and then moving pieces on a grid of concentric squares. When you have 3 of your pieces in a row, you can take one of your opponent's
pieces off of the board. Play continues until a player has only 2 pieces remaining.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, 11 PIECES (7 of one color, 4 of another)
The game simulates an attack on a castle. The attackers move in to try and get 2 pieces in the castle while defenders try to hold them off and, if possible
, eliminate them. The Neutral Zone in the game gives it a nasty little twist.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, 18 PIECES (17 of one color, 1 of another)
In this game you are either a Fox trying eliminate as many Geese as possible or Geese trying to trap the Fox so that he can not escape. The rules are quite simple and the game play can be fairly quick.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, STANDARD DECK OF PLAYING CARDS, MISCELLANEOUS PIECES TO USE AS CHIPS
The game itself is easy to pickup and plays very quickly. Some additional variants can add a bit more strategy to the overall game, but even with these variants Boodle is a light fun game.
Instructions
Game Board
PIECES REQUIRED - GAME BOARD, STANDARD DECK OF PLAYING CARDS, MISCELLANEOUS PIECES TO USE AS CHIPS
The name of the game came from the legend that Pope John VIII was actually a woman. According to this legend, Pope John VIII was walking during a procession and fainted. When he was examined "he" was found to be pregnant.
The Catholic Church denies the existence of a female pope, but that didn't stop the legend being used as Protestant propaganda. This also explains why this game was very popular in dominantly-Protestant Victorian-Era Scotland.
The Pope card in the game is the 9 of Diamonds, which is also known as the Curse or Scotland, most likely because of its resemblance to the Dalrymple Coat of Arms. Sir John Dalrymple was the engineer of the infamous Glencoe Massacre.
Note: You can use this Pope Joan game board for the game Boodle as well. The Jack, Queen, King, and Ace bowls on the board correspond to the Boodle JQKA bowls.
Instructions
Game Board