- If you thought you knew every unique game out there, think again...
Games of chance have been a staple activity for millennia. As soon as humankind discovered that making a wager was a way to pass the time, countless games were thought up. And as we’re going to see shortly, some make more sense than others.
Most people are familiar with common types of ante-based games and sports, but we’re here to take a look at some of the more odd, rare, and downright weird games of chance played across the globe.
- Belgian Birdsong
Our first entry hails from the country of Belgium (hence the name). Belgian Birdsong is a game whose singularly hilarious concept revolves around placing bets on the performance of birds.
What kind of performance you ask? Well, multiple singing birds are placed in front of a circle of players who in turn place bets on which bird will sing loudest or for the longest period. Though some animal rights groups have raised concerns in the past, there are strict regulations in place to ensure their welfare.
- Pachinko
This entry from Japan is as unusual as it is massively popular in its country of origin. Born as a game in Nagoya after WWII, Pachinko combines a curious blend of flippers, slot machines and arcade games often accompanied by an anime motif.
The way a Pachinko machine is set up is remarkably similar to a vertical flipper, though the main difference is that players must keep multiple balls in action instead of one. The basic objective is to keep the balls from falling into the wrong exit holes, while keeping them safe or getting them into the right opening gets you a prize.
Though originally a niche contraption available only in a few establishments, Pachinko is now by far one of the most popular games in Japan and has seen a huge surge in popularity both in its original mechanical form and on virtual and online platforms.
- Dreidel
A simple but high-stakes and often exciting game of chance that is commonly played during Hanukah in Jewish households, Dreidel has been played since ancient times. The Dreidel itself is a four-sided spinning top akin to a teetotum.
There is no limit on how many players can play as long as everyone gets a chance to spin the Dreidel (no Hanukah or Christmas family feuds allowed).
The rules are simple. First, a pot is created by the players using anything from chocolates to matchsticks, buttons or everyone’s favorite betting chip, raisins.
The four sides of the Dreidel indicate what happens to the player that spins it. “Nun” means the player gets nothing, “Gimel” is the winner and means everything. “Hay” signifies a half split of the pot and “Shin” or “Shtel” means the player must add a game piece. Multiple rounds are usually played to ensure a fairer match and as you can imagine, the winner is the one who gets the pot at the end of the round.
- Gerbil Roulette (and while we’re at it, the Chicken Challenge)
Another animal-based game of chance that is (believe it or not) played in specialized casinos around the world.
The game supposedly originated in Atlantic City, home of the legendary Chicken Challenge, where punters can challenge a sprightly chicken named Ginger to a game of Tic-Tac-Toe (we are not making this up).
Back to Gerbil Roulette, as the name suggests, the game is a variation of roulette where instead of placing bets on a ball, a gerbil (attracted by food) is placed in a wheel. Once released, the gerbil will follow the scent to one of the numbered boxes. The number of the box is the winning number!
- Rock-Paper-Scissors (in 3D!)
Our last entry is such a classic it almost boggles one’s mind that someone took the time to make an actual virtual game out of it. Yes, there is a plethora of virtual rock-paper-scissor games for players who don’t want to make strange shapes with their actual hands.
What’s even more interesting (or unbelievable, depends on how you look at it) is that there are numerous online tournaments (either against human players or AI), some even with cash prizes!
So, there we have it. Thousands of years of evolution of both humankind and games we play to pass the time and we still end with Rock Paper Scissors, a game you can finally also play on your computer. What a time to be alive!