Play Like the Romans Did: Terni Lapilli

Noemi | Malih nog naokrog Play Ideas, Play More with Your Toys!, Printables Grapat, social games, toy history 0

PLAY LIKE THE ROMANS DID: TERNI LAPILLI

After discovering tic-tac-toe, my son has been obsessed with it for a year! It was a real challenge for him to figure out how to keep his eye on all the rows, and try to keep up with blocking the opponent and aiming for his own win. But once the game has become less fun for him (and has eventually grown tired of a constant tie!), I wanted to find something similar to keep his little brain in motion. That’s how I came across the ancient Roman game “Terni Lapilli”, literally meaning three pebbles.

Terni Lapilli (or Rota, as they also call it sometimes) is in fact considered to be the ancestor of the popular child game. But it has slightly different rules making it much more interesting! For a start, it can never end in a tie! It is also more amusing to adults – and the proof is, that boards carved into the floors of different monuments, theatres, public bath houses, or even roads have been found all around the Roman Empire.

Would you like to try this ancient game? All you need is a simple board (drawn by hand, or you are welcome to download ours below!) and 3-3 uniform loose part pieces. We usually use Grapat mandalas, but marbles, buttons or, of course, coloured pebbles work perfectly, too!

THE RULES

1. The game is for two players. The board starts empty, and each player takes turn placing their pieces on one of the free nine circles. You can decide who goes first: the youngest player, or you will simply leave it to Fortuna by spinning an ancient-looking dice or tossing a coin.

2. Your aim is to put all your mandala pieces in a row – whether along the diameter, or in the circle of the board – to win the game, while trying to prevent your opponent doing the same.

3. Once all mandala pieces are up and rocking, take turns moving them around. You can always move a piece only to an adjacent and empty circle, following the line (towards the center or towards the outside and along the edges).

4. You are not allowed to skip a mandala piece – neither your own, nor your partners. And you cannot skip your turn either. The pieces can be only moved to empty circles, and two pieces cannot occupy the same space.