Let's Hang Out When the Black Plague is Over ch6: Games

It's raining today... What shall we play?

The year 1353,
in the Franken District of the Holy Roman Empire.

Schönwald Village, a small estate governed by a knight.

The miller girl seems pretty happy.
Today, we'll show off this magic tool she's proudly showing off...

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A moment that makes people's hearts dance, no matter the era.

Oh. Lutz?
...

You're gonna catch a cold if you get wet.
Come inside!
Yeah...

!
Not playing with your friends today?
It's raining today...

...Everyone's playing a board game in the yarn spinning room,
but I don't know how to play...
*Yarn Spinning Room: A room in the village for domestic use (with a comfortable stove). Germans used them as a meeting place for playing puzzles and games.
Eeh? Poor kid!

Everyone spoils me cos I don't know the rules.
It's no fun.

...I hate games...
Th-There's a kid who hates games!??

I was gonna play future games with everyone today too...
How sad~ I thought everyone loved games, even in the middle ages~

Don't feel down, boy!
We'll teach you about games!
...
!
Sounds good! Let's play some middle age games!

Ema.
Do you have a quill and some parchment on you?
Will a pen and paper do?
*Paper production in Germany began in 1390 in Nuremburg.

When you think of simple and fun games, you think Glückshaus!

Okay, that should do it!
Ah, a piggy!

I've cut up some bread.
Let's use them as chips!
Ooh, nice one.
Well then, let's explain the rules!
!

Ah, hold on a sec~
If you explain it all at once,
I might find it all complicated and get confused.
You're such a dunce~ Okay, I'll explain the rules as we play.

...Well then, let's play Glückshaus.
Begin the game.

I'm the dealer, so I'll start.
When it's your turn, you roll the dice.

An 8, huh?

If the space with that number is empty,
you place a chip there.

I guess it's Lutz's turn next?
Go on, give the dice a roll.

Ah, I got 8 too!
The same as His Lordship!

If there are chips on the space you rolled, you can take them for yourself!
There's the chip my lord put there just now!
That's good. The chip is yours!

Wah, I can have this?
!
This game is all about obtaining chips!
Just don't bet money on it or you'll get fined.

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Hey, Frau Becker.
Can I eat this later?
Sure. I'll make some soup to go with the chips you've won.
*Soup is soaked up with bread.

It's my turn next!

A 7.

7 is a special space!
Look.

Ah<3 A heart mark!

That room is a wedding hall
and the chips are presents for the bride and groom.
Danke<3schun~
...So even if you roll another 7, you can't take the chips from that space!
Howeh~

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Oh my.
I got a 7 too.
You have to put a chip on 7 too, Ema!

The 7 space gets more and more chips
until someone wins big!
Congrats~!
Is that so?
Here's a congratulatory gift then!

There are two other special spaces besides 7.
2 is "Lucky Pig"
and 12 is "The King".
They're the so-called big winner spaces, but I'll save the rules for those until someone lands on them!

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And so, we keep on taking turns.

We're getting a lot of 7s!
7 is the most common number you get from combining the sides of the dice!

I see. So it'll keep on getting chips until someone hits the jackpot!

Dice Probabilities
The probability of rolling a 7 in 1/6 - 6 or 8 is 5/36 - 5 or 9 is 1/9 - 4 (skip) or 10 is 1/12 - 3 or 11 is 1/18 - 2 = Lucky Pig or 12 = The King (jackpot) is 1/36
And so...

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Alright!!
2 is the Lucky Pig!!

That means I get chips from every space besides 7~!
My soup's gonna be extra extravagant~
How nice~

You're such a glutton, Rachel~
Hey, cut that out~
Hey, it's your turn, Ema!

Games... might be kinda fun...

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Quite the stash building on 7, huh?
Hmm~ Another 8 for me...

Okay, it's your turn, Lutz!
Yeah!

Lutz-kun, before you roll the dice...
try saying "toi toi toi" for luck!
?

It's a phrase future Germans say to wish for luck.
...

Toi toi toi...
Toi toi toi...!

There!

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I did it! A 12!!
I'm the King!!
Ooh!!

We crowneth the adorable King Lutz-kun as the King of Franken!!
All the bread on the board including the 7 space belongs to King Lutz!!
Wah~ Congratulations, Lutz~
Let's keep playing until we use up all the bread in the bowl.

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Is everyone enjoying the soup?
Sehr lecker.
Games really are fun~
Sehr lecker = German for "really delicious"

Do you like games now, Lutz-kun?
Hmm~...
I don't hate them as much as before.
Really!?

Hey, Frau Müller.
Do people in the future play games too?
Yeah~!

Someone who wants to show off really badly.

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Games are a culture that the future is proud of!!
Everyone in the future loves games!!

Wah~
The pictures are moving~!?

You can play your favorite games by sliding like this!
Are you moving them with black magic, Ema!?
Geh... Board games...
Hey, was that Kegeln I saw just now!?

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Let's start with a simple game of Gomoku!
I don't think I know the rules??

Die Regeln (Let's go over the rules.)
I-It talked!??

The German stuff
Stones? 5? I can't tell from the accent.
*There are differences between middle age German and modern day German.
It's explaining the rules.
You win if you line up 5 stones!
Does this game have a spirit speaking inside of it??

Thank you, Herr Spirit!
Thank you for explaining the rules!

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Okay, Rachel.
Touch where you wanna place your stone.
Here then.

Wah~ What amazing black magic!
I put a stone onto the picture!!

I-I can't use magic...
Don't worry~!
Games let anyone become a magician!

O-Okay...

Wah! I put it down!
You did it, Lutz!

Okay, I'll put mine next to it~
I'll go above...
Okay, horizontally...
Above...

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Uuuweeeeh!??
So weak!!

You're too good, Lutz!!
What should we do next?
Do you wanna play Kegeln, King Lutz?
I do!

Ah, by Kegeln you mean bowling, huh!
So there are 10 pins in this!
*Skittles (Kegeln): A traditional German game that became the origin of bowling.
They're lined up in a weird shape?
This is the Kegeln of the future!

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You throw the ball in the picture.
Just watch.

Hup!

Waaah!!

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How's that?
You're good at this, Ema!
It's amazing how you can play Kegeln even on a rainy day!
Frau Müller!
I wanna try too~!!

Hold down the R button and swing.

Yah!

Oooh~!!

Not bad, Lutz-kun!!
You're good too, Frau Müller~!
Hey now. Is this so easy that anyone can do it?
How about you try next, My Lord?

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0 pins (gutter ball)

...

Hrmm~

Maybe this house...
is on an incline... o-or something?
That has nothing to do with it...

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Fishing game
You won't get mad over this, My Lord!
Very well.
*In the middle ages, fishing rights were regulated by the feudal lords.

Side-scrolling action
Keep running~!
!

Jump!
They're in sync with the game!

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Open world
Eeh!?
Someone made an entire world for one game!!?

And then...
Board game (Backgammon)
Spieler 1 gewinnt. (Player 1 wins.)
Yay!!

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I did it, Frau Müller!!
I won a board game!!
You did it! You did it!!
You're really good at games, Lutz-kun!!

Frau Müller!
I had no idea games could be this much fun...!
It might be more fun than playing outside!
!

Wah~ I'm so happy~

Y'know, Lutz-kun...
when I was little, I couldn't exercise at all.
People often made fun of me and I worried that I wouldn't make any friends.

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...But games helped me make some fun times with lots of friends!
Side-scrolling, isometric action, puzzle, RPG, fighting, rhythm, party, racing, sports.
Aah~ It was so much fun~!! I was so happy~!!

...Lutz-kun.
Culture gives humans lots of friends and happiness!
...But it's not limited to sports or playing outside.
Games are the same!

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Oh, the rain stopped.

Frau Müller, excuse me!

Did Lutz come here?
Ah! There he is!

Don't disappear without telling anyone~
Sorry that we played nothing but board games~
You guys...

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The rain's stopped, so let's play outside!
Shall we play Black Beast?

Nope.
I don't need to play Black Beast!
...?
!

I wanna play games with everyone!
I can play board games now!
The rules are a little different, but I wanna play board games with everyone!

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Eeh~
The pictures are moving!!
So you can do board games with magic!?
The game's spirit will teach you the rules!

Are games fun, Lutz?
Yeah!
They're even more fun when you play them with everyone, huh!
Yeah!
Don't get too absorbed in them, okay?
...No way!

No matter the era, everyone's time is connected by "play".

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Let's Hang Out When the Black Plague is Over! - Games in Middle Age Europe

Do you all like games? Back when I was a shy kid, I can't even fathom how much games, manga and anime helped me reach out to people, become friends with them and spend some wonderful time with them. Europe had games 700 years ago too, which led to all sorts of mingling. This time, we'll take a look at game culture in middle age Europe.

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Places to Play Games
With internet in place, the games we play are more or less enjoyed entirely in our homes. But while the middle ages didn't have places dedicated to games like our present day arcades, there were places where people would gather around to play games with each other.

Yarn Spinning Room
The yarn spinning room became the focus of games among youths. It was originally a place for adult (likely 13 years and older?) men and women to mingle, but as shown in this chapter, kids would barge in when they couldn't play outside due to the rain. Following yarn-spinning and woodwork duties, after 9pm, they would bring out puzzles and start playing board games. During the winter, the owner would put on the stove to make both work and gaming more comfortable.

Stove

Taverns
Taverns (or in this work's case, inns) were a place where elderly people could play cards in the corner. In the middle age world, they were also a facility for gambling. The city had lots of laws banning gambling. In Gottingen, Niedarsachsen alone, there were apparently countless proclamations in 1354, 1381, 1396, 1399, 1415, 1425, 1428, 1445, 1459, 1467 and so on. Whether it's modern day or the middle ages, there are always people who depend on gambling.
Retirement sure is relaxing.
Indeed.

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Games believed to have existed in the middle ages (1353)
There's not a lot of details on the games that likely would've existed in the year 1353, including their rules... (Maybe my research is just lacking...) Even the Glückshaus game featured in this chapter is believed to have been invented in the 16th century. Nevertheless, let's look at some games that would've existed around 1353!
If you went to a yarn spinning room, they'd have Trickretrac.
In the books I referenced, it was also called Wufzabel, but it was apparently better known as the prior according to Wikipedia, which also explained the rules. As the name Trickretrac implies, it's similar to the legendary French game Trictrac.

Chess was a game for nobles.
This should be a game you're very familiar with, but the rules were different compared to today. It apparently originated from an Indian game called "chaturanga". It was a game that used dice, but it would later go under the name "Schweinschach (Chaturan)" from Persia to Spain, through Constantinople, Byzanz (the capital of the Byzantine Empire which lied on the European side of what is presently Istanbul, Turkey, until it became to be known through Europe as a pure thinking game.
Unlike the 8x8 boards we have nowadays, there were often boards with 7x6 layouts.

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Playing Cards

German style: Deuce (either 2 or Ace) of Acorns French style: Changed to the suits Japanese people are more familiar with British/American style: The cards used by modern Japan where 1 became Ace.

When we Japanese people think of European games, the first thing we think of is cards, right? Alas, it seems playing cards weren't a thing yet in the middle ages... The cards modern Japan uses are a so-called British/American version of French-style cars, with the German style being a prototype. Playing cards were first brought to Germany from India, the the French version gave them simple monochrome suits (Spades, Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds), making them cheaper to mass produce and spread all across Europe.

German Playing Cards

Deuce of Hearts - Under Knave of Acorns - Over Knave of Bells - King of Leaves

Let's look at the German style that would become the prototype for present day European playing cards. Playing cards likely appeared in Germany in the year 1377 at the latest (and while not a derivative relation, the Latin style dates even further back), and originally had 52 cards just like the present version, before removing the Aces to become 48, and would sometimes use 32 like the present day Trick-taking game. German playing cards used Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells for suits, omitted the 1 and 3-6 cards, treated the 2 or Deuce (Daus) card like an Ace, had Under Knaves (Unter) in place of Jacks and Over Knaves (Ober) in place of Queens, with the King (König) being left as is.

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Karnöffel
I am Karnöffel.
I was born on the war-loving planet of Mars.
Be it pope or emperor, I'll cut them down!!
Karnöffel is an old card game with a rather peculiar background. It was first sighted in 1426 when, by the laws of

Nördlingen, Bavaria, it was legally allowed to be played
as part of its annual town festival, and was believed to be played while going up the Rhein River past South Germany, Switzerland and Alsace.

Let's play the oldest card game Karnöffel!
Let's play the world's oldest card game! The rules are simple; two teams of two fight with their strongest cards, and the first to win 3 games wins!
First, if you're using Japanese cards, take out the two Jokers and 4 Aces so you have a deck of 28 cards.

Can't be used!
A-Team B-Team A-Team B-Team

Then the four players sit on each side of a table facing each other. Form a team with the player opposite you and aim for victory.

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The dealer deals each player one card face up, before dealing cards face-down one at a time until each player has five cards in total.
Next is choosing the "trump card" or strongest card. The King, who would normally be the strongest, is surpassed by the Emperor and then the Pope. (I'll explain the powers of these cards later.) The trump suit is determined by the suit of the weakest card among those that were dealt face up. If there are two or more 2 cards dealt, the one that was dealt first becomes the trump suit. For example, if the face up cards are the 2 of Spades, 5 of Clubs, King of Hearts and 7 of Diamonds, the 2 of Spades would be the weakest, meaning Spades would become the trump suit.

Weakest

The ♠ suit becomes the game's trump suit. For example, the 3 of ♠ and 4 of ♠ would both be trump cards.
Once the trump suit has been chosen, the player to the left of the dealer becomes the trick-leader. Players each play a card from their hand going clockwise. Once each player has played a card, the player with the strongest card out of the 4 played wins and gains one trick. The one who won the trick starts off the next round and the cycle repeats. The first team to obtain a total of three tricks wins. Simple, right?

(Dealer)
(Trick-leader Lead)
(Win!)
Dealer
Lead

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Well then, let's take a look at the card powers.

The strongest card is Karnöffel, which becomes Trump Jack. I imagine him as a wild under-knave who would power his way through anyone regardless of their authority, even a king.

Next is the Devil card, which becomes Trump 7 dealt by the lead. The Devil card can't be used by anyone but the lead.

The third is the Pope card, which becomes Trump 6. In the Catholic world, the Pope is acknowledged as the strongest.

Fourth is the Emperor card, which becomes Trump 2. Also known as a the King-taker. If the weakest 2 becomes the trump, the Emperor can surpass even a king.

Fifth is the Lead King, with Lead being the suit of the card played by the trick-leader. Aside from the trumps, the King is the strongest card.

That covers the cards with character images, so let's quickly go over the other cards.
Trump 3 (Beats Over-Knaves (Queens)
Lead Queen
Trump 4 (Beats Under-Knaves (Jack)
Lead Jack
Trump 5 (Beats all other number cards)
Lead 10-2 (10 is the strongest, 2 is the weakest)
All other cards (including trump suits outside of the lead cards, Trump 7 included)

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How did you like it? There's nobody among us modern day folk, especially young people, who would hate games, right!? Even for someone like me, who was athletically challenged and never asked to play outside, gained a lot of friends and precious memories from games. The people of the middle ages were no exception, as this wonderful culture brings to mind spinning together bonds between people. What culture will I draw next...? I can't contain my excitement!