Huntsman

In the time I spent among the Wildmen in Osmia, I often noticed pairs sitting across from each other with what looked like sticks buried in the ground between them. Every so often, one would gesture to a space in front of them, and the other would respond with the name of an animal. When I came to Pecora, the Wildmen there were much more willing to let an outsider join in. They explained to me that it was a game they played, a game of memory and bluffing. Thrice they invited me to play, and thrice I lost handily. I fear my account of the game will not do it justice; it seems important to many of them.

History

The origins of the game of Huntsman are lost to history, as evidenced by the fact that a very similar game is found on both sides of the Old Forest. It is based around the idea of different creatures having different hunting territories, though it cannot possibly capture the complexity of the ecosystem it represents. Each group of Wildmen have variants of the game based on which predators are found in the areas they are familiar with, and I am told that the greatest games are those played against other groups, where both sides have to contend with the addition of foreign pieces to the game and their potential interactions with their own pieces.

Execution

The game is played on a square grid, usually drawn on the ground. The size of the square varies, as does the number of pieces. Each piece represents a different animal found in the region, and has a certain hunting territory. Both players use identical sets of pieces, which are stuck into the ground so that they cannot be moved once the game starts, and are inscribed on only one side so that the opposing player is unaware of which piece is which. Once the pieces are placed, players take it in turns to choose a space on the opponent's grid, and their opponent names an animal that hunts there. The aim is to deduce which of the pieces is which animal while giving away as little information as possible to your opponent. Once you think you know which animal a certain piece is, you can declare that on your turn instead, and if correct, that piece is removed from the board as a successful hunt. On an incorrect guess, some versions simply leave the piece in place, while others remove it, but count it as an unsuccessful hunt. Victory conditions differ similarly - in some games, it ends as soon as one player's board is cleared of all pieces, while others wait until both are cleared and then scores are compared.

Components and tools

The key to the game is, of course, the individual pieces. Being able to visualise the different hunting territories of each one is necessary to do well in the game. The pieces also interact in different ways, for example, both the tiger and vulture pieces hunt in straight lines, but the tiger's hunt is blocked by other pieces while the vulture is not. It is important that the pieces look the same from the back, and most are made from the foot bones of lance-deer, which ensures both similarity and resilience.