Games - Tablero da Gucci

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	Games - Tablero da Gucci

Tablero da Gucci (usually referred to simply as Tablero) is a drinking game adapted from an Italian Renaissance gambling game, Tablero de Jesus (pronounced as in Spanish; hey-ZOOSE).

History

This form of the game was conceived at a party held by some people who belonged to a medieval recreation group, the Society for Creative Anachronism. One of their number reasoned rather brilliantly that it would be a lot more fun to play this game with shots of beer than with coins. They dubbed it Tablero da Gucci, after the family name of the SCA household of some of the initial players.

Basic Rules of the Game

Object of the Game

The object of this game is to make your opponent run out of beer (or whatever else is being played with) before you do.

Equipment (for playing with beer)

One opponent (someone else who wants to play)
4 equal sized containers of something good to drink (bottles or cans of beer normally)
Seven shot glasses, not necessarily of equal sizes.
2 six-sided dice
A board with a 7 x 7 grid of squares.

The board should be made out of something that will stand up to being doused with beer on a fairly regular basis. Cloth is highly recommended.

Starting the Game

Place your board on a flat surface. Three of the seven glasses are placed on each base line (the horizontal row closest to the player) of the board starting from the right hand corner nearest each player. The seventh glass is placed in the exact center of the board.

Find a spectator and have them roll the two dice. This is called the 'Queen's number' and will be important later.

Each player fills the three glasses on their base line from their supply of beer. Then, each player rolls one die. The player who rolls the highest number gets to choose who goes first. That player then takes the center glass, places it one their own base line and has control of the dice.

Playing the Game

The current player rolls the pair of dice.

Seven, eleven and twelve are pass numbers. If a player rolls any of these numbers, their turn ends and they must pass the dice to their opponent.

When the two dice have been rolled the player must move one glass, for each die, the number of spaces equal to the die. Thus if a 2 and a 5 are rolled, one glass must move forwards 5 spaces, and another glass (not the same one) must move forwards 2. If there aren't enough spaces to move a glass the full distance rolled, that glass may not be moved. If the player cannot move two glasses (one for each die), then their turn ends and they must pass the dice to the other player.

Lining Up Glasses

The object of the game is to move the glasses to form a line. Horizontal and diagonal lines are permitted. For horizontal lines, six or seven glasses must be lined up in an unbroken row. For diagonal lines, the linee must contain all seven glasses from corner to corner on the board.

When a line is made, the player who made it gets to "pull" the line. The player who made the line must drink at least half of the glasses in the line. For a row of 6, this is 3 glasses. For a row of 7, this is 4 glasses.

The remainder of the glasses in the row are then distributed by the "pulling" player as they see fit. Glasses may be given to the opponent, spectators, random passerby, or may be consumed by the "pulling" layer itself. It is customary to give your opponent at least one glass.

The "puller" then places the empty glasses on the base line of their opponent. The opponent must then fill the empty glasses from their own stock of beverage. After doing so, the "puller's" turn ends and control of the dice shifts to the opponent.

The Queen's Number

If a Queen's Number is rolled, the player is allowed to choose one glass from anywhere on the board, toast "To the Queen." They then drink the contents of the glass and place it on their opponent's base line. The opponent must then fill the glass from their supply. The person who rolled the Queen's Number retains control of the dice.

IF you do not "call" the Queen's Number before you pick up the dice to roll again, your opponent may then call it, whereupon they gain the privilige of drinking the toast. They then place the glass on the base line of the person who rolled, who must then fill it form their own supply. The rolling played does, however, retain the dice and continue with their turn. If the opponent does not call Queen's Number before the dice are rolled again, then the opportunity is lost for both players.

Ending The Game

If you are required to fill an empty glass, and are unable to because your supply of beer has run out, you lose.

The only exception to this is if a player wins as a result of rolling (and drinking) the Queen's Number. In this event, the player drink the toast as normal. If the opponent cannot fill the glass, the glass still goes on the opponent's base line, but the player who drank the toast must then fill the empty glass from their own supply. As usual, the rolling player still retains control of the dice.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Tablero da Gucci ]

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