Four Ribbons

Four Ribbons is a popular parlour game that originated from the faeries in Alain, before it became a mainstay in the Arthurian Age. The reason for its spread is unknown, but its position in celebrations all year round needs not be explained. It became so widespread that there have even been laws made surrounding the play of Four Ribbons, including but not limited to:

forbidding ropes from play;
forbidding the tying of ribbons around an active player's airways, and;
making it illegal to leave an active player for more than two hours.

History

Before the Arthurian Age, Four Ribbons was a game exclusive to Alain and its faerie residents. It was originally a degrading game, meant only for otherwise gullible humans to play. They learned that if they turned getting the information they needed for their servitude into a game, the human would be all too willing to give away their name and innermost secrets. As humans began to have more open dialogues with faeries, this game spread in a more benign form. Some attribute its popularity to Sir Gawain, who was widely known to have faerie partners. Though credible, this doesn't explain its spread in the lower classes, who arguably enjoy it more than the nobility it is rumoured to stem from. Perhaps the numerology of four ribbons is what made it popular in Camelan.

Execution

The active player is bound by four ribbons (or ribbon-like cloths) to commence play. The first active player is usually decided by the lowest dice roll, though other methods can be used. The prevalent method in Alain is to elect the person who is the least talented with magic and have them bound first. The first ribbon is tied around their eyes and the active player declares their first statement. This is usually written down somewhere, be that on paper or the cloth / ribbon itself. The second ribbon binds their arms, going around their chest. At this stage, if using a chair, the active player is bound to the back and rendered unable to move. The active player declared the second statement. The third ribbon goes around their thighs, which on a chair means the ribbon is tied under the seat. This is when the active player declares their third statement. Their fourth and final statement is declared after their shins are tied, which means they are bound to the legs of the chair or stool at this point. This is when the game begins in earnest. The dormant players have to guess whether these statements are the truth or a lie. Their active player can repeat the statement, but not change it once it's been declared. If they do, they have to choose four completely new statements to be evaluated. For every statement they correctly determine as a truth or lie, the dormant player who guess correctly removes a cloth or ribbon. Once the active player is free, the cycle continues and the person stood behind them takes the role of active player. The aim of the game is to make sure that all of the players have been in the active role at least once, though sometimes this is unachievable. In the event that the game is in a standstill, the player who has guessed correctly the most times is crowned the winner. This is usually done frivolously, since keeping track of who guessed what is seen as an upper class novelty that not many indulge. Some, forgetting this caveat, simply elect to keep the active player bound until the morning or whenever they remember the game is over.

Components and tools

As the name implies, the game requires four ribbons to bind around the active player. Though some use rope, it is an unpopular choice since one of the ribbons needs to go over the eyes. When there are no ribbons, people instead use scraps of cloth or other wandering fabrics. Depending on the house preference, the active player may need to be tied to a chair or can remain standing. Most for the sake of safety tie them to a stool or chair, since the shins and thighs need to be bound together.

Participants

A game of Four Ribbons usually has five players, so that each dormant player can tie the active player up with at least one ribbon. Games can only have four, though this style of play is seen as less friendly and more like an informal interrogation. Anything greater than five is more than welcome.

Dormant Players

In a conventional game of Four Ribbons, there are four dormant players who have to question the active player on their four statements. They can confer amongst each other about their validity or otherwise but cannot leave the room or consult their surroundings for information. Their victory is reliant on their powers of reasoning or, if all seems lost, a good guess. They form a circle around the active player in an effort to seem unconfrontational, but sometimes this produces the opposite effect. The dormant player that stands directly behind the active one is usually the one next in line for tying up, whilst the one to their right has usually just been released.

Active Player

The active player is the one bound by the ribbons. They have to, whilst bound, make four statements of their choice. They can tell as many lies as they wish, but at least one statement has to be the truth. Some variations of the game have statement starters, such as: "I wish that..." or "I used to be..." and so on. An active player cannot forfeit a question, but can lie about the answer if their statement was a lie. They also, for reasons that should be evident, cannot leave the room to avoid a question or from participating. If none of the dormant players can come to a consensus on any of their statements - or get them all wrong - the active player stays in play and has to come up with new ones.

Observance

Four Ribbons is a mainstay whenever a celebration is in order, though it's most common during the winter when decorations such as ribbons are close on hand. It has served as an icebreaker in casual events, since it's seen as improper for a formal setting where there are usually far more guests. In this professional environment, it is also understandable that being interrogated by employees or workplace colleagues would be uncomfortable.

Related Ethnicities