PATOLLI BOARD GAME

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Join my Tribe and get every month model to your collection. JOIN NOW!!! Patolli was played by Mesoamerican groups such as the Toltecs and Aztecs, as well as the Maya. It was played from about 200 BCE until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and their conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 1500s CE. The game was played by both commoners and nobles alike, with the conquistadors noting that Montezuma II, the ruler of the Aztec Empire, enjoyed watching his nobles play patolli. Black beans with a hole drilled in one side were used as dice; this is why patolli is sometimes called the bean game. Boards were painted on matting. The game had a strong focus on gambling, with both players meeting to see what the other had available to bet. Common items to wager were things like blankets, food, or gold. Usually there were six items because each player had six game pieces. The aim of the game was to complete a full lap of the board with their pieces. Every time a player successfully got one of their pieces off the board, their opponent had to hand over one item. The Aztec god Macuilxochitl was also considered to be part of the game and there was a small pile of offerings for him near the board. The winner would take these offerings as a gift from the god. As is the case with a lot of ancient games, we are not entirely sure of the rules. With patolli it is because the conquistadors outlawed the game, destroyed game boards, and punished those who played it.