Before I was married, I had a lot of friends who liked to play games. No, I don't mean mind games, I mean board games and such. We would hold a game night once a year, usually at my house. There would be a donation pot for people to kick in money for the pizzas that were ordered and sodas we had bought. We spent the whole night playing games. A different game was going on in each room.
You'd be surprised how fun it is for adults to play games. Most people will occasionally play cards, but I've found that other games are also really fun. We had things like the standard Pictionary, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit. But there were also some lesser known games.
One of my favorites was The Great Dalmuti which is a very simple, but fun, card game. It won the Mensa Select award in 1995 when it came out.
The last time I looked for it online because I wanted to give it as a gif, I couldn't find the English version because it was no longer being made. But I was able to find the German version on eBay and I made a copy of my English instructions to go with it.
But when I looked just now, I see it on Amazon and game sites. It turns out it was reissued in 2005.
The game is based on the caste system and has its origins in a game dating back to the Middle Ages. Each card in the deck has a number and a beautifully drawn picture of someone in a medieval profession represented by the number, the lower, the better. So for example, 12 has a picture of a Cook, 11 is a Stonecutter,... 2 is an Arch Bishop, and 1 is the Dalmuti.
The object of each hand is to get rid of all your cards and it is so simple a child could learn to do it. One player puts down cards that all have the same rank number. Then the person on his left must put down the same number of cards with a lower rank number, or pass. So if someone puts down three 11s, the next person is allowed to put down three 10s or three 9s, etc. Then the next person must put down three of a lower number, and so on.
After each hand, you change position of where you are sitting according to the order you went out. The positions also have names. If you're in the top spot, you're the Great Dalmuti. Then next best is the Lesser Dalmuti. All the other spots are merchants until the last two which are the Lesser Peon and the Greater Peon.
The game is the most fun if you role play a little. For instance, it is perfectly acceptable for the Greater Dalmuti to order the Greater Peon to bring him a drink. Also the comfort of the chairs should match the positions. The Greater Dalmuti should sit on a couch with cushions, the Lesser Dalmuti on a love seat, and so on. The Greater Peon usually ends up sitting on the floor.
The Greater Peon is also the one who does all the work, like gather the cards and shuffle.
At the beginning of each hand there is Taxation in which the peons give the dalmutis their two best cards. But if someone has both jesters, they can call for a Revolution which means no Taxation. Also if the person calling the revolution is the Greater Peon, it means that the peons switch places with the dalmutis. Ah, sweet justice!
So if you enjoy game-playing, invite some friends over for a date night and try playing The Great Dalmuti.
You'd be surprised how fun it is for adults to play games. Most people will occasionally play cards, but I've found that other games are also really fun. We had things like the standard Pictionary, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit. But there were also some lesser known games.
One of my favorites was The Great Dalmuti which is a very simple, but fun, card game. It won the Mensa Select award in 1995 when it came out.
The last time I looked for it online because I wanted to give it as a gif, I couldn't find the English version because it was no longer being made. But I was able to find the German version on eBay and I made a copy of my English instructions to go with it.
But when I looked just now, I see it on Amazon and game sites. It turns out it was reissued in 2005.
The game is based on the caste system and has its origins in a game dating back to the Middle Ages. Each card in the deck has a number and a beautifully drawn picture of someone in a medieval profession represented by the number, the lower, the better. So for example, 12 has a picture of a Cook, 11 is a Stonecutter,... 2 is an Arch Bishop, and 1 is the Dalmuti.
The object of each hand is to get rid of all your cards and it is so simple a child could learn to do it. One player puts down cards that all have the same rank number. Then the person on his left must put down the same number of cards with a lower rank number, or pass. So if someone puts down three 11s, the next person is allowed to put down three 10s or three 9s, etc. Then the next person must put down three of a lower number, and so on.
After each hand, you change position of where you are sitting according to the order you went out. The positions also have names. If you're in the top spot, you're the Great Dalmuti. Then next best is the Lesser Dalmuti. All the other spots are merchants until the last two which are the Lesser Peon and the Greater Peon.
The game is the most fun if you role play a little. For instance, it is perfectly acceptable for the Greater Dalmuti to order the Greater Peon to bring him a drink. Also the comfort of the chairs should match the positions. The Greater Dalmuti should sit on a couch with cushions, the Lesser Dalmuti on a love seat, and so on. The Greater Peon usually ends up sitting on the floor.
The Greater Peon is also the one who does all the work, like gather the cards and shuffle.
At the beginning of each hand there is Taxation in which the peons give the dalmutis their two best cards. But if someone has both jesters, they can call for a Revolution which means no Taxation. Also if the person calling the revolution is the Greater Peon, it means that the peons switch places with the dalmutis. Ah, sweet justice!
So if you enjoy game-playing, invite some friends over for a date night and try playing The Great Dalmuti.