Serendart

Played in taverns, inns and saloons across Nascindor, Serendart is a game of chance with a slight element of skill, planning and craftsmanship involved for as many players as is called for.

Parts

The board used for a game of Serendart consists of two parts; a small wooden bowl or the "holder" and a spinning top or just "top". The top is marked with zones that are worth differing amounts of points and color coded accordingly. Each player is expected to supply their own dart.

Playing the game

When the game begins, the top is placed inside the holder and spun vigorously so it stays spinning. The first player to go takes their dart and, using any style they see fit, tries to land the dart onto the spinning top in a way that does not destabilize it and cause it to spin out of the holder. If such a blunder is committed, the player who knocked the top out of the holder is disqualified and loses any wager they might have placed on the line. This continues until every player has successfully landed a dart onto the top, after which its rotation is stopped and the score is tallied based on the zones on the top the players darts landed onto. Depending on the amount of rounds being played, a winner can be declared at this point.

Darts

The darts used to play Serendart are most often handmade by those who play the game, and there is really no guideline as to what is and isn't allowed as long as the resulting implement is still recognizable as a dart. Some players swear by weighted darts which are easier to flip onto the top, while others try to make theirs as light as possible to minimize the amount of force they impart upon the spinning top so they can go for the more lucrative zones at the outer edge of the top. A player's dart can have as much impact on their performance as their skill and sense of timing.

Variations

There are multiple variations to a game of Serendart, though perhaps the most popular one is what is called the "Trickster's Wager", in which the darts of the players are placed in a bag and each player rummages for one on their turn, often ending up with a dart they are unfamiliar with. This variation often includes a doubling or even tripling of the wager for the round.

Let me show you how it's done!

–An overconfident player of Serendart before a crippling eye injury

by AI-generated

_{An assembled board and a collection of different darts}