The Wagon People, similar to many Goreans, love to gamble on almost anything. Stakes will vary from money to possessions, including slaves. They might wager as many as twelve slaves on something as simple as the direction a bird might fly or the number of seeds in a tospit. When wagering on a kaiila race, they might even bet all of the bosk they own. It is considered to be a great honor for a woman, Free or slave, to be made a stake in such gambling.
WAGON PEOPLES
Ball and Quiva
Tuchuk children play with a cork ball. One throws the ball, while the other attempts to strike it with a quiva.
Lance Catch
In spear or lance gambling, the weapon is placed in the ground, point facing up. The tribesmen then walk with their mounts around it, ready to catch the spear or lance when it falls. The winner is the one who catches the weapon when it falls.
Bola Run
In another wagering game, a black lance is placed in the ground about four hundred yards away. A slave girl is placed into a circle, about eight to ten feet in diameter, formed by a bosk whip. The girl must run to the lance, trying to avoid capture, though most are not expected to actually reach it. Time is judged by the heartbeat of a standing kaiila with a man holding his hand on the side of the kaiila. The kaiila is near the whip circle.
The kaiila rider will tell the slave to "run" and she receives a head start of fifteen heartbeats, which will normally take her about halfway to the lance. This count is done aloud. The count starts over from one when the first 15 heartbeats are over. At that point, a kaiila rider must then ride after the girl and use a bola to capture her and a binding thong to restrain her. He must return with her in as little time as possible back to the circle. 25 beats is considered a remarkable time.
Commonly, during the initial head start, at about the count of ten, the kaiila rider will begin to slowly spin the bola, reaching maximum rate of revolution when he is later at full gallop, almost on the quarry. Some girls are specially trained to evade the bola and thus are often used in this wagering. If multiple men are to race on a side, then the first rider has the priority of honor though all of the riders score points in the same manner. The first rider is usually considered the more skillful rider.
Lance and Tospit
Still another game is the lance and tospit. A wooden wand is fixed in the earth and a dried tospit is placed atop it. A kaiila rider will then charge toward the tospit and try to impale it on his lance. You earn points for how well you impale the tospit. If your lance strikes the tospit, but only knocks it off the wand instead of impaling it, that is worth only one point. If you impale the tospit but your strike is too hard and the tospit travels down the shaft of your lance, that is worth only two points. If you can just nip the tospit, the lance barely passing into it, then it is worth three points.
Living Wand
A deadlier variation of the lance and tospit is the living wand. Save for armed combat, this is considered the most dangerous of the games. In this variation, a slave, usually standing sideways, must hold the tospit in her mouth. The object is for a rider to hit the fruit with his lance without striking the girl. She will be killed if she moves or withdraws from the lance. Injuries to slaves are not that unusual. There is also a more difficult variation where the girl must stand facing the lance. This requires a delicate lance maneuver not to injure the girl, striking the center of the fruit.
Other Games
The tribes even have spitting contests, seeing who can spit the farthest. Some will play a game with their Turian slaves. They will release the slave in sight of the city and let them run for the walls. Then they will chase them down using bolas. Even their children play a variety of games. Most of these games help hone necessary skills and abilities in the hunt or war. Thus they serve a dual purpose.
Love War
Maybe the most important of their games must be those of the Love War. The institution of the Love War is an ancient one, older even than the institution of the Omen Year, so well over 1000 years old. Every spring the games of Love War are held between the Wagon Peoples and Turia on the Plains of a Thousand Stakes, located some pasangs from Turia.
"It might also be mentioned that the Turian warrior, in his opinion, too seldom encounters the warrior of the Wagon Peoples, who tends to be a frustrating, swift and elusive foe, striking with great rapidity and withdrawing with goods and captives almost before it is understood what has occurred." (Nomads, p. 116)
As they desire neutral adjudicators for these games, they invite judges and craftsmen from the city of Ar to officiate at the games. These individuals are guaranteed safe passage across the plains and are very well compensated by both the Turians and Wagon Peoples. Their fee is often sufficient to support a man for a year in Ar.
The Plains of a Thousand Stakes is a huge area, with numerous stakes carefully spaced. Each stake is generally flat-topped, about six and a half feet high and seven to eight inches in diameter. The stakes are painted colorfully, trimmed and decorated. Retaining rings are bolted on the stakes and the key to the rings are kept two inches above the heads of the girls at the stakes. The stakes stand in two lines facing one another in pairs, separated by about fifty feet.
Each stake in a line is separated by about thirty feet and the lines extend for over four pasangs, about three miles. This would mean there are over five hundred pairs of stakes. One of these lines is close to Turia while the other is close to the Plains. In between each pair of opposing stakes is a circle of about twenty-four feet in diameter. The grass is removed from this area and the ground is sanded and raked. This is where the men will battle.
About two hundred men from each of the four Wagon People tribes attend the games. Only the best warriors are permitted to compete and only the most beautiful women can be used as prizes. During Nomads of Gor, each of the tribes brought 100-150 women to the games. A Turian woman and Wagon Person woman are tied on opposite stakes, each positioned so that they can see either their city or the plains. There is a priority of these stakes as well, with First Stake being the most desirable. Then, a man of the Wagon People will battle a warrior of Turia for possession of the women. The winner of the duel wins claim to the other's woman.
Though the Turian women often wear robes and veils, they may be face-stripped at the request of any of the Peoples. Many of the Turian women also wear a Turian camisk under their robes, in case they are captured. When men of the same side wish to fight for the same staked woman, the combatant will be determined by rank, scars and prowess. Most men will step aside if someone of superior rank and prowess chooses the same woman as them. Fighting for a stake is frowned upon by both sides, being seen as somewhat disgraceful especially in the presence of the enemy. In alternating years, each side gets to choose the weapon that will be used in combat and it appears that any weapon can be chosen.
You can withdraw from the duel after the choice of weapon but before your name is officially entered in the lists. The Turians often choose certain weapons, in order to kill their foe and get the woman, including the buckler and dagger, ax and buckler, dagger and whip, ax and net, and two daggers, provided that, if the quiva is used it cannot be thrown. The overall winner is determined by which side won more of the other side's women. Each year, the overall winner varies. In Nomads of Gor, the Wagon Peoples won, gaining about 70% of the Turian women.
There are women of the Wagon Peoples who have been specifically raised to be eventually placed at a stake in the Love War games. Such women are often spoiled, the men catering to their whims. In Nomads of Gor, Hereena is the primary example of this type of woman. She was a member of the First Wagon, and was a very beautiful woman with light brown skin and black eyes. Instead of the usual long, leather dress, she wore a brief leather skirt that was slit on the right side so that she could ride a kaiila.
She also wore a sleeveless leather blouse and a crimson cape. Her wild, black hair was bound by a band of scarlet cloth. She did have a nose ring, like the rest of the women of the tribes. Hereena would become the Third Stake at the Love Wars, a slight gap in her teeth preventing her from being assigned to First Stake. A Turian officer representing the merchant Saphrar won her and then sold her to Saphrar. Harold of the Tuchuks would later steal her from Turia and keep her as his slave.
OTHER GAMES
Bat and Ball: There are two men on each side, and the object is to keep the ball out of the hands of the other team. No one man may hold the ball for more than the referee�s count of twenty. He may throw it into the air, over his head, and catch it again himself. The ball may be thrown to a partner or struck to him with the bat. The bat drives the ball with incredible force. This is something like a game of "keep away" with two men in the middle.
The first "knock off" is when the ball is served to the enemy. A man can be hit by a ball driven from the opponent�s bat. This is a common trick. It is very difficult to intercept or protect oneself from a ball struck with great speed from a short distance. There is a variation similar to ice hockey using paddles and played on ice.
Ball Toss: There is a cloth ball, stuffed with rags, that is thrown about.
Bean Race: Several slaves are lined up on hands and knees. Each must push a bean with her nose across a finish line yards away. Men commonly place bets on the race.
Bones: Each player, in turn, drops a bone, one of several in his supply. Each of the bones is carved to resemble an animal, such as an arctic gant, a northern bosk, a lart, a tabuk or sleen, and so on. The bone which remains upright is the winner. If both bones do not remain upright there is no winner on that throw.
If both bones should remain upright, they are dropped again. A bone which does not remain upright, if its opposing bone does remain upright, is placed in the stock of the one whose bone remained upright. The game is finished when one of the two players is cleaned out of bones.
Cat's Cradle: This is similar to the Earth finger string game. Girls face one another while kneeling. With string arranged around their fingers, they create intricate designs. Northern girls are very skilled at this game.
Cups and Pebbles: Similar to Earth's "shell game," this game involves guessing. Small, inverted metal cups are used. A coin, pebble, or small object is supposedly placed beneath one of the cups. They are then moved about, rapidly. The odds are with the �house,� so to speak, especially when the coin or pebble is not placed under one of the cups. This is a game that lends itself well to slight-of-hand manipulations.
Dice: There are numerous forms of dice games played on Gor. Many games are commonly played with from one to five dice. The knucklebones of a verr are usually used to create dice. They then have their marks painted on them. This is done to try to make sure that they are fair.
Scooping out numbers on the side may not be fair, since the amounts scooped out may not be equal, meaning the dice will not roll fairly. Some do try to scoop out equal amounts. Some cities make these type of dice and sell them in sealed boxes. The dice have supposedly been cast 600 times and their results were close to mathematical probability. Loaded dice are used by some unscrupulous people.
Each number on a die is called by the name of an animal though not all of these names were given in the books. "Larl" is the maximum high on the die rolled, basically a six. An "urt" is the lowest value, a one. A "verr" would equal a roll of a four. A "sleen" exists but it is not stated what value it represents. There are two unknown animal designations as well.
Girl Catch: This is a popular game played in a variety of ways on Gor. It can be informal or very formal. In the basic game, a slave girl is hooded and belled. She is then let loose for hooded men to seek and capture. It is forbidden for the girl to stand still for a certain interval, commonly a few Ihn. She is under the control of a referee who uses a switch to encourage her to move and to mark her position.
Slaves try to hone their evasive skills in this game and some girls get quite skilled at it. In another form of the game, it requires one hundred men and one hundred women. The object is to capture as many women as possible and place them into your Girl Pit while protecting your own women. In these large games, free women often play.
Kaissa: This is probably the favorite board game on Gor. The word "kaissa" is the general Gorean word for "game." But, when used without qualification, it means only one game, Gorean chess. It is played similar to Earth chess, the object being to capture one's opponent's Home Stone. Almost all civilized Goreans, of whatever caste, play Kaissa. There are many clubs and competitions. Most libraries have many scrolls on strategy and techniques.
Meat Catch: Slave girls are knelt in a line, hands bound at their backs. Each slave, one at a time, is thrown a piece of meat. If the girl catches it, her Master scores two points. If the meat is missed, all girls scramble on their bellies for it, the winner scoring one point for her Master. Men commonly bet upon the game.
Soccer Game of the Red Hunters: The game is similar to soccer. A leather ball is used with goals established, either drawn, set or agreed upon. Groups of people play the ball to the opposition's goal in order to score.
Spear Throw: This seems to be a martial skill game involving the distance a spear is thrown.
Staff Contest: A contest where men spar with staffs.
Stones: This is also known as guess stones. It is a guessing game where a certain number of stones are held in the hand, usually two to five, and you must guess the number. You get a point for a correct guess and you can then try again. If you guess wrong, your opponent gets a turn. The game ends when one person reaches a set number of points, usually fifty. There are many variations of this game. It may also be done by guessing even or odd number of stones.
Any small objects may be used such as stones, beads or even gems. There are even intricately carved and painted game boxes containing carefully wrought "stones" for the affluent enthusiast. The game is not simply an idle past time. There are numerous psychological subtleties and strategies involved. Tournaments are held and certain people are known as champions at the game. Entire estates have been known to change hands over a game.
Tag: Much like the Earth game.
Wineskin Balance: A wineskin is filled with wine and greased. Men try to stand, balanced, on it for an ehn. The winner, who accomplishes this, gets the wine. Sometimes, the winner may have a choice of prizes. There is a small fee to play, usually a tarsk bit.
Zar: This is a board game common in the Tahari. It bears some similarities to the Earth game of checkers. Zar uses a Kaissa board but the pieces are placed only on the intersections of the lines. Each player has nine pieces, of equal value, which are originally placed on the intersections of the board's edge closest to the player. The corners are not used in placement.
The pieces are commonly pebbles, sticks or bits of verr dung. Pieces move one intersection at a time unless jumping. One may jump an opponent's pieces or one's own. A jump must be made to an unoccupied point. Multiple jumps are permitted. The object of the game is to effect a complete exchange of the original placements. The first person to do so wins. |