A verdurian ball game

[Neek]

I'm not sure what Zompist had in mind when he coined boďpila, but in drafts and concepts I had for the story, Soî Avisarî, there were some other games I had in mind. There are two games: One where the schoolgirls played in a decrepit ballcourt, and one they play with local farm boys in an open field.

Žatpila - Gardenball

Gardenball is a zero-contact sport two-teamed sport. The point of the game is to hit a statue with the ball in a courtyard. The rules change from day to day, but here're the finer points.

The playing field is semicircular, about 110 degrees--one side of the courtyard has a collapsed colonnade, the rubble putting it "out of bounds." The field itself about 25 feet in diameter. It has four benches, three of them "in bounds" located 90 degrees apart from each other. Weeds grow around the area, but they are generally ignored. At its center is a statue, half-torn down.

There are two teams, the first to reach 12 hicet (points) wins (though some games go to 24, this game is called a žemnahicet). To score a point, the ball must hit the statue. It if hits the statue and bounces into the rubble, it's considered an akboďát, or counter-kick, and the defending team gains the point (depending on the girls playing, it may take a point away from the possessing team).

The ball can be played from a closed fist, from the feet, or the knee. It can be passed to another play, or directed towards the statue. It can be played while held, but has to be kicked, kneed, or hit with a closed fist. The ball cannot be hit with a closed fist. If held, the person holding cannot move until released. The ball cannot be played from inside the benches, but some game allow the ball to be played at least three paces out from the statue.

The games are generally short, so generally three matches are played. The best of three win.

Other than bragging rights, the game is played for tobacco, coin, or food-tokens (which they use to "purchase" food from the cafeteria, and if you're an upperclassmen, is considered tender to local shops).

Mečipila - Fieldball

The girls at one point skip class and play a game of ball with some local boys on their break. The game is played on a field normally reserved for farm animals to graze on, but they are absent for the game.

The point of the game is to score a point by delivering the ball from the center to one of the four tall stones (Përcëmurî they're refered to) in the field. A game is played in two parts, lasting about ten minutes each (one of the kids nabs his father's watch to time it).

There aren't any rules for determining who has possession first--generally, the loser of the last game gets the ball. With the girls playing, they place a secret bet. The higher bet wins the beginning possession. The possessing team begins play at the middle of the four stones--when possession changes, this is also where they begin play.

The game is composed of multiple tries (esey). A try begins with a formation, with one person on the possessing team holding the ball. The most common formation is a triangle, with the holder in the center. The holder can attempt to pass the ball through a hand-off or a toss, or carry the ball to one of the four stones. The try ends if the holder touches a stone, gets tackled, or fails to pass the ball. If the ball fails to pass and hits the ground, the first person to see it must scream baktfežici (terrible throw) and immediately count from 3 to 1. On 1, if the ball isn't picked up, the try fails and they begin play where the ball landed.

The ball can be intercepted, that is, be put in the possession of the other team. This can be done in two ways: A catch, if the ball is caught by the other team; or if the ball is picked up by the other team within three from a failed throw.

If a try fails, it begins again with a new formation. The possessing side has 3 tries to get the ball to a stone. If they fail three times, the other team gets possession and begins at the center of the stones.

If the ball is delivered to a stone on the first play, it's worth three points. If the ball is delivered on the second or third play, it's worth one point. If the ball gets intercepted and delivered to a stone on the same try, it's worth two points to the team that intercepts.

The team with the highest score wins, obviously. The boys don't bet anything on the game, they just play for it fun, oftentimes without keeping score. The girls, however, place bets on the game.

Any questions?

[brandrinn]

I immediately find a flaw in the design of the game played on a field recently populated by ungulates.

A fatal flaw.

[Neek]

The field's not been used for a season, if that helps.

[Salmoneus]

a) There seem to be a lot of rules - and winning conditions, even! In RL, such things are dreadfully modern inventions in sport. Football, for instance, gained rules in the nineteenth century (Rugby in the 1820s and 30s; Cambridge Rules in 1848; unified association rules in 1877). More informal rules had surfaced in the eighteenth century. Before that, it was mostly a free-for-all (although some schools had rules banning students from kicking each other above the height of the ball from as early as 1660).

b) It's very namby-pamby. Taking, again, football as an example, it was only very late on that purposely kicking people until they ran away became unpopular - traditional medieval games usually involved a lot of broken bones.

c) You say the first one is non-contact, but you then mention contact

d) You talk about 'attempts' and 'plays' and 'interceptions' in the second, but you don't define them at all.

[Neek]

a) There seem to be a lot of rules - and winning conditions, even! In RL, such things are dreadfully modern inventions in sport. Football, for instance, gained rules in the nineteenth century (Rugby in the 1820s and 30s; Cambridge Rules in 1848; unified association rules in 1877). More informal rules had surfaced in the eighteenth century. Before that, it was mostly a free-for-all (although some schools had rules banning students from kicking each other above the height of the ball from as early as 1660).

I'm not sure what your basis of comparison is, or from what sport you're coming from. You're speaking of sports that are recognized by some organizationa that states what the rules are, etc. Games had winning conditions before, the Mesoamerican ballgames had them, the Raramuri indians of North Mexico have their own ballgames with their own winning conditions.

So did the games having origins around the world in the 14th century: stoolball, lapta (Russia), oina (Romania). So did the Roman and Greek ballgames, such as harpastum. These games aren't the product of mob games like shrovetide, but cultural adaptations from games dating from Cadhinorian times.

I would be more worried were these codified rules. They aren't. The rules can change mid-game, same with winning conditions. These are just the most apparent rules in the games.

b) It's very namby-pamby. Taking, again, football as an example, it was only very late on that purposely kicking people until they ran away became unpopular - traditional medieval games usually involved a lot of broken bones.

Just because medieval ballgames turned into dangerous mobs (a la Shrovestide) doesn't mean Verdurian sports went that way. That's a decision for Zompist to make, not me. I'm only presenting sports that children made up based on games they've been taught.

c) You say the first one is non-contact, but you then mention contact

d) You talk about 'attempts' and 'plays' and 'interceptions' in the second, but you don't define them at all.

No I don't. The game has no contact between players. But I do need to clarify the attempts, plays, and interceptions. That I can do.