marla@Sun.COM (Marla Parker) (11/09/88)
If anyone knows more about the origins & variations of this
game, please post.
Khala - a pebbles & holes game for 2 players
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If you don't have a Khala board, go to the beach and make 12
holes in the sand - 2 rows of 5 small holes with 1 big hole at
each end, like so:
o o o o o
O O
o o o o o
The holes should be big enough to hold 10 or more pebbles. Sit
on opposite sides of the "board". The hole to your right is
your "home". The 5 small holes nearest you are "your side".
Start with 3 pebbles in each of the 10 small holes. (4, 5, or
6 to start is more fun but also more difficult.) Take turns
moving the pebbles until one side is empty. The pebbles left
in the other side go to that side's home, and the game is over.
Whoever has the most pebbles in their home wins.
A Turn: Pick up all the pebbles in one of the small holes on
your side. Moving counter-clockwise (to your right), drop one
pebble in each hole until your hand is empty. If you go
around the end, past your home, drop one in your home. If you
have so many pebbles that you go clear around the other side
past the other player's home, *skip* his home hole.
Free Turn: When your hand is empty, your turn is over, unless
your last pebble lands directly in your home hole. Then you
get another turn immediately. As long as you can make your
last pebble land in your home, it is still your turn.
Capture: If your last pebble lands in an empty hole on your
side, then you get to capture all the pebbles in the hole
immediately across from this hole, and put them in your home.
Your turn is still over, since the last pebble did not land
in your home.
That's it. There's nothing to it except a Turn, Free Turn, or
a Capture. Note that it isn't always a good idea to go out
first, since the other player gets all the pebbles left on his
side.
(A repeat, maybe explained better. I promise this is the last
time!)
Five - a word game for 2 players.
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(Easily modified for younger players, e.g. play Three by using
3 letter words instead of 5, and don't bother with the restictions
against plurals, etc.)
Each player needs a piece of scratch paper and a pencil. It helps
to write the alphabet at the top of the page, divide the rest of
the page into 2 columns and write your name at the top of one
column and the other player's name over the other column.
Silently pick a 5-letter word and write it under your name. Do
not let the other player see your paper from this point on. She
also picks a secret word. The secret words should be made up of
5 different letters, should not end in the letter s, and should
not be a proper noun. It should be a real, English word that the
other player is likely to know.
The object of the game is to guess the other player's secret word
before she guesses your word.
To play, you take turns guessing 5 letter words. For each guess,
you have to tell the other player how many letters in the guessed
word are right, but not which letters. The only restriction on
words that are guessed is that they contain 5 letters.
For example, if my word is "melon",
your guess - answer
books - 1
fight - 0 (so in your alphabet, you cross out f,i,g,h,t)
climb - 2
brick - 0 (cross out b,r,i,c,k, so books must be o or s)
brook - 1 (so it MUST be the o, cross out s)
.....
lemon - 5! "but that's not my word!"
melon - Right
You have to write down your guesses so you can work on them to
figure out the right letters, and it is a good idea to write down
the other player's guesses in the other column, circling the letters
that are in common with your secret word so that you don't make a
mistake in your answers.
Marla Parker (415)336-2538
{major backbone}!sun!marla
marla@sun.com