Buy Mongolian Ankle Bone Games (Shagai)

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Shagai (or ankle bones) is a Mongolian traditional game that involves cleaned and polished the ankle bones of sheep or goats. The game has been more of a national pastime, and everybody enjoys it, young and old.  National tournaments are held every year during the time of Naadam in July. The most skilled players must flick the ankle bones at a target around 10 meters away.  The game can be played in a variety of ways, which involve tossing a handful of Shagai in to the air and how they land will determines the animals you have.

Ankle Bone Games

Each of the four sides of anklebone represents a different animals-horse, sheep, camel, and goat. In many games, the side on which a tossed piece lands (horse, sheep, camel, or goat) is significant. Depending on the game, the anklebones may be tossed like dice, flicked like marbles, shot at with arrows, caught in the hands, or simply collected according to the roll of a die.

Other popular games include:

Horse race

A popular game that is normally played with two players, but can also be played with more. Each player flicks one piece (his “horse”) in turn along a sequence of stationary pieces representing the race course.

Full toss

Two or four players take turns tossing all of the pieces. Depending on the number of horses and/or camels landed, the player can collect pieces from the pool, or has to add some. When the pool is empty, the player with the most collected wins.

Open catch

Using ten or more pieces, each player in turn places all of them in one hand and tosses them up into the air. Then he tries to catch as many as possible with the back of the same hand. The caught pieces are tossed up again, and as many as possible caught in a fist this time. The caught ones are collected by the player. Winner is who has collected the most pieces once the pool is empty.

Twelve years

Two players in turn toss two pieces like dice for twelve rounds (corresponding to the twelve-year cycle of the traditional calendar), counting a point for each horse landed. If no player reaches 12 points, the game restarts, otherwise the higher score wins.

Tossing three shagai

Any number of players take turns tossing three pieces like dice. Three pieces landing on the same side score two points, two sames give one point. Winner is who first reaches a predetermined number of points.

The four shagai

Players take turns tossing four pieces. All four landing on different sides scores eight points, four sames give four points, and two pairs give two points. If a player manages to grab all pieces of a four sames throw (by any player), they also get the score of that throw. Winner is who first gets ahead of all others by a predetermined margin.

Four animals

The pieces are divided into four groups, representing herds of different animals as of which side is turned upwards. Players take turns tossing one extra piece like a dice, collecting one from the herd of the type thrown, or putting one back if the respective herd is empty. Once all four herds are depleted, the player who has collected the most pieces wins.

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