Morra (game)

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Morra players in Italy
Morra players in Italy

Morra is a hand game that goes back thousands of years to ancient Roman and Greek times. It can played to decide issues, much as two people might toss a coin, or for entertainment.

Contents

[edit] Rules

While there are many variations of Morra, most forms can be played with two, three or more players. In the most popular version, both players throw out a single hand, each showing zero to five fingers, and call out loud their guess at what the sum of all fingers shown will be. If one player guesses the sum, that play earns one point. The first player to reach three points wins the game.

In another version one person is designated the "odds" player while the other is labeled "evens". Players hold one hand out in front of them and count together to three (sometimes chanting "Once, twice, thrice, SHOOT!" or "One, two, three, SHOOT!"). On three (or "shoot"), both players hold out either one or two fingers. If the sum of fingers shown by both players is an even number (i.e. two or four) then the "evens" player wins; otherwise the "odds" player is the winner. Since there are two possible ways to add up to three, both players have an equal chance of winning.

Some variants of Morra involve money, with the winner earning a number of dollars equal to the sum of fingers displayed.

[edit] Variants

The rules for Morra can be altered in several ways.

[edit] More fingers

One variant of the game is to allow players to hold out any number of fingers, with the winner still based on whether the resulting sum is odd or even. For example, if there are two players and they each throw out five fingers, the resulting summation is even, so the "evens" player is the winner.

[edit] Micatio/Micare

Micatio is a variation of Morra that attempts to lessen the element of chance by including the sight and speed of the player, a calculation of probabilities, and a certain psychological flair. In Micatio the two players "each raise the fingers of the right hand, varying each time the number raised and the number kept down, and call aloud the total of the fingers raised by both," until one player wins the round by guessing right (Carcopino, p. 251-252). Winning the round earns the player one point. If the numbers thrown do not match the numbers shouted, no point is scored.

Micatio is also played in competitions with four person teams. Team members compete one at a time, facing their opponent. Each team member plays four times, and a match is comprised of eleven points.

Micatio is still popular today in southern Italy[citation needed], and may have been played by Romans[citation needed].

[edit] Rules of Micatio
  1. Hands must be in clear view to players and referees
  2. One challenger can not play after he sees what the other has shown
  3. The point is won by the player who guesses right the sum of the fingers shown by them both
  4. If the both players guess right, the point is not assigned and the game goes on
  5. The set is won by the player who is first to score 16 points in the first and the return game, and 21 in the deciding one
  6. If both players tie the score when they miss a point to win, they play a 5 points tie-break
  7. The match is won by who wins two of three sets
  8. Players can not challenge referees' decisions
  9. It is an individual game, but you can also play with a mate against two others, as they do in the Championships
  10. In such a case, two challengers start the game and the one who wins the point has the lead until he loses it

[edit] More players

[edit] Ones and Twos

Ones and Twos is an elimination variant of the game, requiring more than two people. It is essentially a simplified version of rock, paper, scissors with only two choices. The loser is the "odd man out", or the minority choice in the case of large groups. For example: if there are ten players, and six happen to hold out two fingers while four hold out one finger, the four people holding one finger lose and are eliminated. The remaining six players move on to play another round. In this variant, the last round (between two players) is usually decided in the traditional manner.

This version can be played with any number of people, and is usually faster and easier than dealing with three variable combinations, as it eliminates the need for round robin tournaments.

[edit] Modular arithmetic

The game can be expanded for a larger number of players by using modular arithmetic. For n players, each player is assigned a number from zero to n−1. On the count of three, each player holds out any number of fingers less than n, including zero. The person whose number is the remainder of the sum is chosen.

In this variant it is common to arrange all players in a circle, assign someone to be player 'zero' and assign numbers to other players counting upwards in a direction (usually clockwise). With this arrangement, once players throw out their numbers, they leave their hands in place and close their fingers one at a time as counting moves around the circle. When no fingers are left, the final player counted is selected.

[edit] Allowing zero

Some variants of Morra allow players to hold out zero fingers. If the total number of fingers is also equal to zero, the game is usually counted as a draw and replayed.[citation needed]

[edit] Number analysis

An interesting consequence of the expanded version of odds and evens (see above) is that the winner is significantly more random than playing consecutive games of rock, paper, scissors. Since any single player can change the result to any other player, a nonrandom result requires the simultaneous cooperation of all players. While unwitting cooperation based on manipulating human psychology can be achieved with successive games of rock, paper, scissors by skilled players, the difficulty of simultaneously predicting the throws of all other players in a single expanded game of odds and evens is much greater.

[edit] History

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Morra was known to the ancient Romans and is popular around the world, especially in Italy. In the Bible, it may have been referred to as "casting lots". In ancient Rome, it was called micatio, and playing it was referred to as "micare digitis"; literally, "to flash with the fingers". As time passed, the name became Morra, a corruption of the verb "micare". The game was so common in ancient Rome that there was a proverb used to denote an honest person which made reference to it: "dignus est quicum in tenebris mices", literally, "he is a worthy man with whom you could play micatio in the dark". Micatio became so common that it came to be used to settle disputes over the sale of merchandise in the Roman forum. This practice was eventually banned by Apronius, prefect of the city.

Today Morra can be found throughout Italy, Greece, the Teruel Province of Spain, Corsica, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Adriatic Croatia, Dalmatia and Malta. Morra played in Arab lands is called Mukharaja. In in southern France it is called “la mourre”, while in China and Mongolia "hua quan" translates as "fist quarrel".[citation needed] It is also popular in South and North American communities with large Italian populations, sometimes known as "Little Italy" in their area. In the city of Hazleton Pennsylvania, an annual tournament is held in February. Money raised during the tournament is given to a local charity associated with Helping Hands. A smaller tournament was held May 24th, 2008 at Hazleton's first annual Italian Heritage Festival sponsored by UNICO.

The game of Morra is described on the images in these Theban tombs: MK, Beni Hassan tomb 9, 26th dynasty tomb of Aba, no. 36.[citation needed]

[edit] Pop culture

Morra has been featured in operas, ancient paintings, and even modern cinema.

  • On a popular television commercial featuring the US Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball team, two players use the game to decide who needs to jump into the freezing cold water to get the volleyball.
  • On an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry and George play this game to decide who will get an apartment that they both want.
  • On an episode of Salute Your Shorts, Michael and Sponge play this game to decide who has to chew an old piece of gum found on a public telephone in order to reach for a coin that fell into a grate.
  • On episode 2x12 of The Practice, Eugene, Lindsey and Ellenor play the game to decide who must deal with a situation involving an annoying client.
  • On an episode of Two and a Half Men, Alan and Charlie play this game to decide who has to talk to their mother on the phone.
  • In the 1993 Robert DeNiro Film A Bronx Tale, there is a scene where the game is being played by friends of the main character Calogero in front of their social club.
  • Morra was referenced in "The Purloined Letter" as 'odds and evens'.
  • On an episode of House M.D., Foreman and Chase play odds and evens to decide who will swab a vicious dogs mouth and who will hold the head still.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Carcopino, Jerome. Daily Life in Ancient Rome.
  • Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars.