Coiling snakes

"What you say, ready for another round?"

Coiling snakes is a game where one side tries to surround all the pieces of the opponent side. A piece is surrounded when four enemy pieces stand the adjacent squares. Each one of the borders of the board counts as a neutral piece which sides with the player that is on the offensive.

History

Coiling snakes is a game which has been played since time immemorial, long before any known kingdoms or empires could rise and fall. The games was originally designed by a village elder as a way to teach the young hunters how, through cooperation and clever tactics, they could best take on their prey. The tactic he wanted to teach was one where the hunters would overwhelm their target by surrounding them, making them like a snake that coils itself around a rat. Back in those days the pieces where made with real snake teeth collected from caught animals, but as the game became more popular and the demand increased these were replaced with the cheaper terracotta pieces, although the rich sometimes still have pieces made of teeth or ivory.

Components and tools

The game of coiling snakes is played with two sets ten fang-shaped pieces (one set yellow, the other white) on either side of a square wooden board. On this board are eight rows which each contain eight squares, differentiating between yellow and black, like the scales of a snake. The fang-shaped pieces are placed on the board with eight small pieces on the first row and two slightly longer pieces on the third and sixth square of the second row.

Observance

Coiling snakes is usually played at dusk in a local inns or at home by the commoners as a form of entertainment or competition. Those who can afford themselves some leisure time might also play it during other fun activities such as a picnic or after a royal hunt.