Sun Moon and Stars

(Based on Tablero de Jesus)

Background

"Tablero de Jesus" was very popular in Spain and in the Spanish possessions in the Low Countries during the first half of the fifteenth century. It was banned by the Pope in 1458, which ban apparently stayed in force until the early twentieth century! credits and thanks

Game Description and Objective

This game is played with two dice, a seven by seven board and a fifteen coin stake supplied by each player. The players place a stake on the board, according to a die roll. Each player in turn then moves the coins up and down the columns, attempting to make lines. A player who makes a line wins those coins and the columns are replenished by the other player. The game ends when one player is unable to stake the required number of coins. The other player takes all the coins on the board at that point.

You can use a chess or draughts board to play the game, and the original boards seem to have been lines scored on wood or stone, similar to the recent find on Orkney. But, for anyone who wants, I've posted a board in the style of expensive contemporary artwork. Those of us with vivid imaginations can pretend we're playing a high stakes game, sitting on chaise-longues and with our every whim attended by serving-staff whose only aim is our particular comfort. Or, hack some lines into a piece of wood and play in the back of the pub.

Set Up

To decide who starts, each player rolls a die. In the case of a tie, both dice are re-rolled. The player who rolled the lowest starts by placing five coins on five of the 'suns', no more than one coin per column. The person who rolled the highest then places two coins on the 'moons' in the remaining columns. The low roller has the first 'turn'.

Game Play

The player whose turn it is begins by throwing two dice. A turn may consist of several throws, and ends when any of the following occur:

the player rolls seven, eleven or twelve;
the player is unable to move two coins;
the player makes a line and wins several coins;
the player elects to pass

When receiving the dice, you must throw them at least once. To continue playing after throwing the dice, you must move two coins, one per die. The coins move only within the columns, not across them, and each coin must move the full value shown on the face of that die. The same coin may not be moved twice, and the coins must each travel the full distance shown on the die, in one direction only, not backwards and forwards.

If it is not possible to move two coins in this way, the player may not move any coins and the dice pass to the opponent. After having moved the coins, if there are two or more lined up in a contiguous row of stars (spaces, other than the end rows, if you're not playing on my board), you can take them from the board. In that case, your opponent replenishes the vacated columns from their own stake and then takes the dice. If the opponent has an insufficient stake, the game is over.

These are our house rules with respect to leaving lines on the board. They didn't appear in the original description but they give some spice to the decision-making process, so I suspect they're close to the real thing.

If you elect to leave a row, you must either break it and re-form it, or add another coin to it, in order to take it at a later stage. So, if on the next throw you can't add to it, you still can't take it. If you make another row you can take that, but not the original one. If your opponent gets the dice, the same rules apply: the row must be broken and re-formed, or added to in order to be taken.

The Run

If a row of seven coins is created, the moving player may announce a "run". The opponent must then stake two coins on the run: if the player cannot do this, the game ends. The running player throws the dice. On a seven, eleven or twelve the running player loses and the opponent collects all nine coins. (That's the original rule. We play that you lose on seven or eleven, which doesn't give an advantage and means that the decision should be taken based purely on how many coins each player has left.) Otherwise, the running player collects the two coin stake and may keep on "running". This keeps on until the runner stumbles, the opponent is unable to stake two coins, or the running player elects to take the seven coins.

I'm indebted to gamecabinet.com for the original description of the game. I hope I've treated the material kindly and added something. I found the gamecabinet site linked at Rules to Period Games. Both sites are fascinating. I notice that the web comes full circle again, since these people are either games who dance or dancers who game. Thanks to everyone concerned.