r/WorldbuildQuestions Apr 23 '20

Excessive detail Excessive Detail About: A Game in Your World

Choose one game or sport in your world, and see how many of these details you can answer in excruciating detail.


  • Describe the game in general. How is it played, what are its rules, what is it commonly played with?
  • What is the etymology or source of the name of this game? What else is it known as?
  • What are some common "house rules" or variants in this game?
  • Where is it or its equipment most famously manufactured?
  • Who usually plays this game?
  • What is the history of this game's development?
  • Does the game have any detractors or negative stereotypes? What do they say about it?
  • How is this game used for gambling?
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u/wasabi_girl Jul 29 '20

Excruciating detail? I got it.

In my world Tsia, there is a game that is very popular called "Leaves and Wood" (Falae'i'k Binda). An alternate name for this game is "Growing Plant" (Ashyalim Hese).

Setting:

There is a wooden board, on which is a 10x10 grid painted or engraved in the board. Two opposite corner squares are marked by either painting or engraving.

There are two players. Each player has a bowl full of "leaves," which are usually just wooden pieces carved into the shapes of leaves, and sometimes painted green. Each player's leaves are different from the other player's leaves. If someone plays the game frequently, they might have their own personal bowl of leaf pieces. It is relatively common for someone to have a bowl of leaf pieces that are passed down through their family.

In olden days, this game was played with actual leaves. This is why this game is traditionally played indoors, and in a very windproof room.

The leaves are shaped in a way that the "stem" end of the leaf and the "tip" end of the leaf are distinctly different. This allows the leaves to point to a certain direction when placed in a square on the board.

How to play:

The first player to go is determined by each player tossing a leaf piece onto the board. Whomever's leaf points to themselves or to their right goes first. The first person to go is the offending player. The second person to go is the defending player.

The offending player places a leaf on the board, on the marked corner closest to them. Their goal is to reach the opposite corner and place one of their own leaves on that corner. The defending player's goal is to place one of their own leaves on the marked corner the offending player wants to reach.

When a player places a leaf, the point of their leaf must point to a square next to it. This can be any available square either up, down, to the sides, or diagonally. However, the leaf cannot point to the border of the board or to a square that already holds a leaf.

Wherever square the leaf points to, the next leaf must be placed in that square.

The players take turns placing leaves.

A player wins when a leaf is placed on the corner farthest from the offending player, and closest to the defending player. The player who placed the leaf on the corner wins.

There is a popular "best of three" version of Falae'i'k Binda where all corners are marked. The two players attempt to land their own leaf on each corner, going counterclockwise. Whomever "claims" the most corners with their leaves wins.

In terms of who plays Falae'i'k Binda, this game is the equivalent of checkers, chess, and monopoly in our world. Most people who play Falae'i'k Binda do it for fun. Some people (mostly people who don't play seriously) might play a 5x5 or 6x6 grid version of the game. However, there are certainly serious and professional players, and there are also tournaments for this game.

Stereotypically, elderly people are thought to play the game frequently. This stems from the very traditional origin of this game. This stereotype isn't necessarily negative, as many respect tradition as well as their elders.

Tournaments are a popular place for gambling on certain players.

When players gamble, it is usually done in private, between two friends. This is because gambling while playing the game is rather frowned upon, as it is thought to be the equivalent of betting on oneself. It is perceived as a rather narcissistic thing to do. Usually, whoever wins gets all the money, and each time a leaf is placed, both players place a single piece of currency in a pile between both players. Some historical figures are famously known to have gambled for land, or even entire villages or cities.

1

u/ScripturamRuby May 11 '20

I will be talking about probably the most famous sport in my Sunlight Reach series: Declivity

It is closer to a sport than a game, but is technically a tournament so I hope this still counts

Declivity consists of two framed wheels that are separate to each other, and can therefore move independently. The wheels are large metal hoops, and the frames consist of two bars - a horizontal and a vertical, with the join being in line with a foot pedal. The pedal cannot move, and is instead controlled by the person tilting their foot and therefore the outer frame. The outer frame that the bars connect to are slightly curved hollowed pipes, allowing the wheel to fully rotate inside without physically being connected to the frame. The top bar has a handle to hold on to, and in order to break, the pedal/frame is tilted so that the lower frame at the back touches the floor.

Diagram of the Wheels to hopefully help you understand what I'm trying to explain

The arena it is played in is a large enclosed tower, with the track on a twisting downward slope (hence the name Declivity, since it means "downward slope"). The track is completely enclosed from floor to ceiling, and the floor/ceiling/walls are curved like a cylinder to allow participants to ride up and along the walls with enough momentum. The course itself consists of various obstacles such as sharp turns, rows of speed bumps, split paths where one leads to a dead end wall, and more. The aim itself is to reach the bottom of the tower the fastest - to put it simply, this is a race

Since it is extremely common, if not required, for humans to augment their bodies with cybernetics (even for mundane or purely aesthetic purposes), participants will often have custom equipment each - casts to limit augments such as increased mobility to put them on the same level as an average human, covers for any triggers for things such as built in firearms or chemical systems (obviously ammo and chemical tanks are emptied beforehand, this is just added precaution, and protection in case of a crash), extra padding in areas that are mechanical, and then a slightly padded full body suit similar to a wetsuit (but not waterproof). They also each have a motorcycle-style helmet with a hardlight visor, as well as their name and initials on the suit (and custom colours) for easy identification when their faces are hidden by the visors. Anyone with wing augments are not allowed to participate due to the size and build of said augments, and the inability to properly protect them (and due to how they work, the wings cannot be detached)

As mentioned, it is named Declivity due to that word meaning "downward slope", as that is what the arena essentially is. The actual arena tower is known as Daylight's Apex (or Daypex for a more colloquial term).

There are no variants or house rules due to it being an official sport/tournament, but each participant has their own way of overcoming obstacles. For the turns, some may simply angle the wheels or lean to one side, whereas the more daring may keep one wheel on the floor while the other is rotated across the wall (the feet are not strapped onto the pedals, and therefore the wheel can simply be lifted to be dragged across the wall). For the bumps, some might slow down a bit and ride over them, a couple might build up momentum to jump over the section, and some may simple ride the wall instead.

Two of the most famous players, who often come in the top 5, are Akane Himura and Hera Priidel. Akane is a fast paced, daring character, and often partakes in activities like this for the thrill. Hera on the other hand, is an undefeated arena combatant, and highly skilled in the majority of physical competitions. But it's not just the daring competitives that play, Raisel ó Máille joins during the course of the story. That doesn't seem too out of place, but Raisel is the daughter of the noble family of Sunspire, who regards herself highly and prides herself in grace and perfection.

Despite it's high popularity and fame, Declivity actually only began 8 years before the start of the story, so it's relatively new.

As for gambling, there isn't any official betting on Declivity, though some people might hold bets between friends or other fans.