Difference between revisions of "Pothole"

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====The Pothole Pitch====
 
====The Pothole Pitch====
  
A Pothole pitch should be flat, slightly soft, and approximately 15-20 yards long.  At one end should be the ''Pothole'' itself - a cylindrical hole in the ground, with a diameter of a yard.  Three yards away from the ''Pothole'', a circular line is drawn, and the area inside that circle is known as the ''Streek''.  At the other end is drawn a line - the ''Hengelsnoer'' -  behind which players make their throws.
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A Pothole pitch should be flat, slightly soft, and approximately 15-20 yards long.  At one end should be the ''Pothole'' itself - a cylindrical hole in the ground, with a diameter of a yard.  Three yards away from the ''Pothole'', a circular line is drawn.  The area inside that circle is known as the ''Speelveld'', and the area outside it known as the ''Buitenspel''.  At the other end is drawn a line - the ''Lijn'' -  behind which players make their throws.
  
 
====The Balls====
 
====The Balls====
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===Rules===
 
===Rules===
  
# A player must stand (or sit) behind the ''Hengelsnoer'' to make their throws.
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# A player must stand (or sit) behind the ''Lijn'' to make their throws.
# A player may not cross over the ''Hengelsnoer'' unless all balls are stationary.
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# A player may not cross over the ''Lijn'' unless all balls are stationary.
# The ''Dodu'' must be thrown to land inside the ''Streek'', though it may later roll or be knocked further away.  Any ''Dodu'' not landing inside the ''Streek'' is removed from play once it comes to rest.
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# The ''Dodu'' must be thrown to land inside the ''Speelveld'', though it may later roll or be knocked further away.  Any ''Dodu'' not landing inside the ''Speelveld'' is removed from play once it comes to rest.
 
# The ''Dodu'' must be thrown using an underarm action.
 
# The ''Dodu'' must be thrown using an underarm action.
 
# The ''Malin'' may be thrown using any technique.
 
# The ''Malin'' may be thrown using any technique.

Revision as of 18:02, 26 July 2011

Pothole

The noble game of tactical skill.


Overview

Pothole is played outdoors on a pothole pitch, and is designed for two players, with variant rules for three or more. Players use tactics and skill to throw objects in better positions than their opponents, in order to score points. The first player to score 20 points is declared the winner.


Pitch and Equipment

The Pothole Pitch

A Pothole pitch should be flat, slightly soft, and approximately 15-20 yards long. At one end should be the Pothole itself - a cylindrical hole in the ground, with a diameter of a yard. Three yards away from the Pothole, a circular line is drawn. The area inside that circle is known as the Speelveld, and the area outside it known as the Buitenspel. At the other end is drawn a line - the Lijn - behind which players make their throws.

The Balls

Pothole is played with two types of ball:

Ballon Dodu: The Dodu is the larger of the two balls, at roughly four inches in diameter. It is made with a firm leather casing, an inner of leather strips, and a core of sand, to make it relatively heavy.

Ballon Malin: The Malin is the smaller of the two balls, at roughly two and a half inches in diameter. It is hollow or with a light padded inner, with a firm leather outer. It is both smaller and lighter than the Dodu.

Each player has three of each type of ball.


Gameplay

Pothole is played over a number of rounds. Each round takes the same format:

Action 1: Player 1 throws a Dodu
Action 2: Player 2 throws a Malin
Action 3: Player 2 throws a Dodu
Action 4: Player 1 throws a Malin
Action 5: Player 1 throws a Dodu
Action 6: Player 2 throws a Malin
Action 7: Player 2 throws a Dodu
Action 8: Player 1 throws a Malin
Action 9: Player 1 throws a Dodu
Action 10: Player 2 throws a Malin
Action 11: Player 2 throws a Dodu
Action 12: Player 1 throws a Malin

Usually, A Dodu is thrown with precision to lie as close as possible to the Pothole for maximum points, but not so close that it can later be knocked into the hole by another ball. The Malins are usually thrown at pace to target the Dodus, to knock opponent's Dodus into the Pothole, to knock opponent's Dodus further away than ones own, or to knock ones own Dodus closer than ones opponent's.

At the end of the round scoring is calculated, and the balls are then gathered up and a new round starts, with Player 1 and Player 2 swapping order of throw above.


Scoring

At the end of each round, the following scores are applied:

For balls in the Pothole:
Any Dodu inside the Pothole: 0 points
A Malin landing inside the Pothole when thrown: -1 points
A Malin knocked into the Pothole on a later turn: 0 points

And for balls not in the Pothole:
Any Malin: 0 points
Closest Dodu to the Pothole: 6 points
2nd closest Dodu to the Pothole: 5 points
3rd closest Dodu to the Pothole: 4 points
4th closest Dodu to the Pothole: 3 points
5th closest Dodu to the Pothole: 2 points
6th closest Dodu to the Pothole: 1 point

If one player's Dodus are the three closest to the hole, he has a Dreifache which scores a bonus of five points.

The maximum score in any one round is therefore 20 points for a Dreifache: 4 + 5 + 6 + bonus of 5 = 20.
The minimum score in any one round is therefore -3 points, if all a player's balls end up in the Pothole.


Winning the Game

If, at the end of a round, a player scores 100 points or more, he is declared the winner.

If both players score over 100 points at the end of the same round, the one with the higher score is declared the winner.

If both players score over 100 points and have the same score at the end of the same round, the game is declared a draw.


Rules

  1. A player must stand (or sit) behind the Lijn to make their throws.
  2. A player may not cross over the Lijn unless all balls are stationary.
  3. The Dodu must be thrown to land inside the Speelveld, though it may later roll or be knocked further away. Any Dodu not landing inside the Speelveld is removed from play once it comes to rest.
  4. The Dodu must be thrown using an underarm action.
  5. The Malin may be thrown using any technique.
  6. A ball, once in the Pothole, may not be knocked out. Any ball being knocked out should be replaced into the Pothole.
  7. A player can elect not to throw at all on their turn, but if they do so then they lose that turn and cannot throw it at a later time that round.
  8. If there are obstacles nearby the pitch, such as trees, rocks or equipment, these may be considered part of the pitch, and players may use these obstacles to their advantage by bouncing their balls on the obstacles to gain new angles of approach. Any obstacle which is added to the pitch once play has begun should be removed unless both players agree to it remaining.


Multiple Player Variant

For playing Pothole with more than two players, the rules should remain largely the same, except:

  • Each player shall have only two Dodus and two Malins.
  • Play shall progress from Player 1 to Player 2 and then on to Player 3 or more, before starting again with Player 1. At the end of the round, Player 2 would start, followed by Player 3 and so on.
  • The maximum number of points for a Dodu will be equal to the number of Dodus in play. So for a five player game with ten Dodus, the closest Dodu to the Pothole will score 10 points, down to 1 point for the furthest away.
  • Players can change the winning score from 100 to a higher number depending on the number of players.


Appeal

The game of Pothole is not widely played. It is a favourite of Sir Mardel Waroe in Carelia, Atamara.
Commoners are known to play the game occasionally, usually substituting the balls for rocks or lumps of wood.

Since a Pothole pitch can be created in any piece of soft grassland just by digging a hole and marking on a couple of lines, it can easily be played by people at breaks in their travels across countryside.