Hobbies And Interests
Outdoor and Pub Games -- Ireland, Scotland and England
The game of Skittles exists in varying forms throughout the United Kingdom. In Skittles, nine pins are placed upright next to each other in three even rows. In the outdoor version of the game, an alley leading to the pins is dug out of the ground. The indoor version uses a miniature version of the same pin set-up on a table. Outdoors the player uses a wooden ball, thrown from a distance, to knock over as many balls as possible; Table Skittles uses a ball attached to a string that is suspended above the playing table. The Irish version of the game uses only five pins. Four are placed around the exterior of a circle, while one resides in the center. Batons, instead of balls, are thrown toward the pins outdoors.
Quoits in another outdoor game that varies by region. A metal ring is thrown toward a spike protruding from the ground. The ring varies in weight depending on the region where the game is being played. As with Skittles, a table top version of this game is played with miniature pieces.
Hunt Game
Hunt games are board games derived from Northern Europe. The Danish name for one such game is Haretavel and in Swedish, Hare och Hund. Both names loosely translate as "hare and hound." In most versions, one playing piece is the hare while the other playing pieces act as the hounds. The object of the game is to corner and catch the hare on the board. Boards vary in complexity, but most are a variation on a series of triangles.
Petanque
Petanque is the French version of a common outdoor game. The game is played on a flat dirt-covered surface with steel balls called boules. A group of players are divided into two teams with as many as four players, but one person can also comprise a team. A cochonnet, or smaller ball, is thrown first. The object of the game is to get your boules as close to the cochonnet as possible. After the first round of throws one player uses a tape measure to determine each boule's distance from the cochonnet. The team with the closet boule gets one point. The first team to reach thirteen points wins the game.
Versions of this game were played in ancient Greece and Rome, but France is the only region were this version of the game stood the test of time. A federation supporting leagues around France was founded in 1906. As of March 2011, 7,600 Pertanque clubs were active in the federation.
Osterspiele
Osterspiele are German games played with eggs during the Easter holidays. The games take many forms, but each game ends with the winning party being awarded the eggs. One game places an egg in a shallow pit at the bottom of an inclined plane. The inclined plane can take the form of a hill in an outdoor setting. Each player rolls his egg down the hill in an attempt to tap the egg in the pit. If a player is successful they are awarded the egg in the pit.