Morra (game)

Morra is a hand game that dates back thousands of years to ancient Roman and Greek times.

Some variants of Morra involve money, with the winner earning an amount equal to the sum of fingers displayed.

In ancient Rome, it was called micatio, and playing it was referred to as micare digitis; literally, "to flash with the fingers".

[dubious – discuss] 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.

[2] Today, morra can be found throughout Italy (notably in Sardinia, where it is called sa murra), Greece, the Province of Teruel in Spain, Corsica, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Istria,[3] Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Malta.

In China and Mongolia it is called hua quan, which translates as "fist quarrel",[4] and is played as a drinking game.

[5] It is also popular in South and North American communities with large Italian populations, sometimes known as "Little Italy" in their area.

[citation needed] In 2005, the IFC, short for Italian Fingers Championship, became an official tournament for a modified version of Morra that is played in teams.

In this two-player version one person is designated the "odds" player while the other is labeled "evens".

In New York City and Long Island in the 1950s, the game was called "chooses", and would be invoked to resolve a playground dispute by one antagonist saying, "let's shoot for it".

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.

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.

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.

Depending on the rule set coffees can be sometimes substituted for food or other beverages of a similar, agreed upon value.

League tables are often created and thorough statistical analysis applied in an attempt to enhance play.

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.

If the player correctly shouts the number of thumbs up in the group he wins the round and places a hand behind his back.

Fifteen-Twenty is an old Chinese variant of morra with numerous variations of its own played in different parts of Asia.