The most popular Sport from my Culture

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Eriek
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The most popular Sport from my Culture

Post by Eriek »

Like an archaeologist delicately uncovering a fossil with a fine brush, I've "discovered" one of my culture's Most Important Sport.

Which I'll call simply "Sport" for now:
(This was all stream of conciousness after it popped into my mind. I did try to edit it for readability as best I could.)

Two main players
1 time keeper with drum
Helpers
An audience


Sport is played on a large surface (like canvas) that can be painted on. The surface is grided into squares approx 18 inches across each. The surface is layed out so that each edge is facing a cardinal direction. The north and south edges belong to player 1, and the East and West edges belong to player 2. The player that connects their two edges wins.

A 16x16 (24x24 foot) surface is the most common size, but surfaces as small as 7x7 squares (with smaller squares) are used for teaching young children and as large as 22x22 are used for Master's games.

The sport can be played indoor or outdoor in a large enough area. Usually the games are held in a Temple-like building since they are an important event.

Clothing is not terribly important but players play barefoot in loose fitting clothing similar to karate/marshal art uniforms.

At the start of the game, the helpers apply paint to the player's feet. The players tell the helpers what part of their feet they want painted. The outside edge is the most commonly used part. Each player uses a different color. It's the helper's job to keep the player's feet fresh with paint during the game.

Each turn, a player moves to any unmarked square and marks it with their feet, using whatever method they can come up with to keep from inadvertently painting the surface while moving, or smearing the other player's marks. Skilled players perform flips, somersaults, tumbles, rolls, "coffee grinder" type moves, etc. eliciting cheers and from the crowd. Inexperienced get booed trying to walk on their heels or tippy toes. Not to mention they often run out of time that way. If a player's feet "accidentally" mark an empty square, that counts. A player forfeits the game if:
They (accidentally) smear the other player's markings
They mark the surface out of turn
They mark a square already marked by the other player.

If there are any squares of the same color in the eight squares around the square they just marked, the player paints a connection to them with their feet unless it would cross a connection of the other player.

Time controls may be decided as appropriate for the context of the particular game; one minute per turn is a common one.

The time keeper is the third player. It's their job to set the tempo of the game with their drum: slow beats when a player has a lot of time, speeding up as they run out. A good time keeper will add ornamentation to their beats when a player performs any fancy moves to get from one square of the surface to the other.

The player that connects their two edges of the surface wins.
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elemtilas
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Re: The most popular Sport from my Culture

Post by elemtilas »

Eriek wrote:Like an archaeologist delicately uncovering a fossil with a fine brush, I've "discovered" one of my culture's Most Important Sport.
Wow. That's pretty neat & interesting!

Kind of like gymnastics meets living chess meets tsuro meets twister!
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alynnidalar
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Location: Michigan, USA

Re: The most popular Sport from my Culture

Post by alynnidalar »

I too quite like this sport! Sounds fascinating to watch.
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Axiem
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Re: The most popular Sport from my Culture

Post by Axiem »

I'm curious as to the history of the sport, and how it developed over time.
Conworld: Mto
:con: : Kuvian
Eriek
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Re: The most popular Sport from my Culture

Post by Eriek »

Started with dance rituals where two people would be covered in paint and have mock fights where they tried to block each other (sort of like dancing linebackers in football if you can imagine that.)

As society and the sport evolved along with it, the smears of paint on the ground started being factored into the scoring on the "battles."

It kind of just went from there and turned into what I wrote about.
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