History of games
The cover of AG20 featured the game Pagode from 1973. In my translation, the blurb on the original game box states, "A board game derived from 'Shuti,' an ancient game of astrology from East Asia. It is richer in problems than Chess, but simpler in its rules." I claimed there was no traditional game anywhere that is anything like Pagode. To my surprise, Stefano Vizzola sent me some further information together with a theory about the history of Pagode. The game Pagode may well originate from an East Asian game after all! This short piece, while correcting my claim for the cover of AG20, is offered also in lieu of a book review. As well as a description of Wufu, hypothetical ancestor of Pagode, the booklet Ancient Games contains rare tidbits of information about other obscure old games. ~ Ed.
The research I conducted on the game Pagode brought to light the forgotten Waschi-Wurti, a board game with dice published by Noris-Spiele, probably between the end of the 1950’s and the start of the 1960’s, a period that can be deduced from the logo on the package and from a comparison with other games from this period. The game was subtitled, "Das lustige orientalische Würfelspiel" [The fun oriental dice game].
The research I conducted on the game Pagode brought to light the forgotten Waschi-Wurti, a board game with dice published by Noris-Spiele, probably between the end of the 1950’s and the start of the 1960’s, a period that can be deduced from the logo on the package and from a comparison with other games from this period. The game was subtitled, "Das lustige orientalische Würfelspiel" [The fun oriental dice game].
Unfortunately, as can be seen from the illustration on the packaging, the publisher seems to have wanted to limit the sale to a young audience. The name Waschi-Wurti, as well as the sub-title and the graphics, clearly implies a Chinese relationship. The manufacturer states that, in the Asian tradition, "Waschi" were the "good spirits" (the player’s own patterns), whereas the "Wurti" were the "evil spirits" (the opponent's patterns).
Waschi-Wurti contains all the essential elements that Eugen Oker (born Friedrich Gebhardt, 1919-2006), alias Valentin Siena, then used for Pagode: a board composed of 9x9 squares, the use of three colours, the placement of colours in parallel diagonal lines, and the presence of the central cross. The number of pieces is different (12 for Waschi-Wurti, 14 for Pagode), but both sets of pieces have the same colours (green and red) and the same shapes (round and square). And last, but not least, the general idea of both games is also the same, to occupy positions on the board to form patterns named after symbolic buildings: House, Tower, Pagoda, Double Pagoda in Waschi-Wurti; Hut, House, Castle, Tower, Pagoda in Pagode. Other elements differ, such as victory conditions, but the biggest difference is the roll of the dice to determine the placement and movement of the pieces in Waschi-Wurti, a fact that does not affect the value of this innovative and carefully constructed game.
Waschi-Wurti contains all the essential elements that Eugen Oker (born Friedrich Gebhardt, 1919-2006), alias Valentin Siena, then used for Pagode: a board composed of 9x9 squares, the use of three colours, the placement of colours in parallel diagonal lines, and the presence of the central cross. The number of pieces is different (12 for Waschi-Wurti, 14 for Pagode), but both sets of pieces have the same colours (green and red) and the same shapes (round and square). And last, but not least, the general idea of both games is also the same, to occupy positions on the board to form patterns named after symbolic buildings: House, Tower, Pagoda, Double Pagoda in Waschi-Wurti; Hut, House, Castle, Tower, Pagoda in Pagode. Other elements differ, such as victory conditions, but the biggest difference is the roll of the dice to determine the placement and movement of the pieces in Waschi-Wurti, a fact that does not affect the value of this innovative and carefully constructed game.
There is no doubt that Oker used both the materials and the general idea of Waschi-Wurti to develop Pagode—unless, of course, he himself was also the creator of Waschi-Wurti.
However, it remains to be asked how Noris-Spiele could develop such a complex game for such a limited range of players. We cannot fail to mention that some concepts and elements, common to Waschi-Wurti and Pagode, were already present in other games then known, such as Gala (the highlighted cross), Kegelschach (arranging a winning formation) and, perhaps, also Hip (Scientific American vol. 203, issue 4, 1960), by Martin Gardner (square formations with different sizes and orientations).
The booklet Ancient Games from Africa, Europe, and Asia perhaps contains some clues. Ancient Games was assembled by Lynn Rohrbough (who edited a dozen other titles on various games and folklore traditions) and published for the first time in 1938 by the Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, Ohio (and later re-released in a print-on-demand format in 2013, by Coachwhip Publications, Greenville, Ohio).
However, it remains to be asked how Noris-Spiele could develop such a complex game for such a limited range of players. We cannot fail to mention that some concepts and elements, common to Waschi-Wurti and Pagode, were already present in other games then known, such as Gala (the highlighted cross), Kegelschach (arranging a winning formation) and, perhaps, also Hip (Scientific American vol. 203, issue 4, 1960), by Martin Gardner (square formations with different sizes and orientations).
The booklet Ancient Games from Africa, Europe, and Asia perhaps contains some clues. Ancient Games was assembled by Lynn Rohrbough (who edited a dozen other titles on various games and folklore traditions) and published for the first time in 1938 by the Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, Ohio (and later re-released in a print-on-demand format in 2013, by Coachwhip Publications, Greenville, Ohio).
On pages 25-26 of Ancient Games, the game Wufu is described in some detail. According to the description, provided by Chang Ling-chia [not otherwise identified], the name means “wu” = “five” and “fu” = “favourable,” referring to positions on the board.
In addition to the description, a diagram illustrates the game board, which is a 5x5 array of grid points, and all possible patterns that score points. The scoring formations are as follows: a diagonal of length three connecting two sides (1 point, a in the diagram); a 2x2 square (called a “well,” 1 point, b in the diagram); a 2x3 rectangle (called a “double well," 2 points, the two b’s together in the diagram); a diagonal of length four connecting two sides (2 points, c in the diagram); a horizontal or vertical line of five (3 points, d in the diagram); and a diagonal line of five (called “crossing the heavens,” 4 points, e in the diagram).
The pieces, the text says, are of two contrasting colours but, in the black and white graphics, round and square pieces are depicted, 12 each.
The board starts empty. The game takes place in two phases. Firstly, the players take turns to place a piece on an empty intersection until all 24 are placed, the central point remaining vacant. Secondly, the players take turns to move one of their own pieces one space orthogonally to a free intersection. If one player begins the placement phase, the other player begins the movement phase.
Whenever a player makes a scoring shape, he removes the number of enemies pieces according to the score of the shape. No scores are counted during the first phase, except at the end, when all pieces are placed. Then, after the first move on the board, both players add up the total scores of shapes they have made during the placement phase, removing that total number of opposing pieces each, before proceeding with the rest of the second phase. In the rest of the second phase, as a player moves and creates a scoring combination, the scoring number of enemy pieces are removed immediately.
The objective is to reduce the opposing player to two pieces, at which point he can no longer score.
What we can say here—almost with certainty—is that that Waschi-Wurti, whose very name recalls that of Wufu, was adapted directly from Wufu, perhaps, using the very description in Ancient Games. In fact, both the number and the shape of the pieces, which in Wufu only denotes belonging, would otherwise be too coincidental.
The addition of the dice allowed Waschi-Wurti to be marketed as a game for children. Pagode does not use dice, which may imply that Oker developed Pagode directly from Wufu rather than Waschi-Wurti. However, the similarities between Waschi-Wurti and Pagode, including the two types of pieces for each player and the colouring of the board, seems to indicate that Pagode is a direct descendent of Waschi-Wurti, minus the dice, and that the latter game originates in Wufu, the original Chinese game.
The reliability of Ancient Games, which describes 29 traditional games, including some very obscure ones, is proven by the fact that, for all lesser-known games, there are references to the sources from which they were taken, and that these references, where verifiable, are genuine—a rare case for a book of this modest scope.
We should know more about this Wufu and find at least one other independent source. In any case, it is possible that the simple materials for Wufu, which have been used by many other games, have compromised its identification—Wufu may have been mixed up with some other game, and thereby lost. Perhaps Wufu is a game without a story, short-lived, or restricted to a limited area geographically. Until now, I have not found any reference to the game “Schuti,” mentioned on the packaging of Pagode.◾️
Acknowledgments
Rohrbough, Lynn (Ed.) (1938). Ancient Games from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, Ohio. (The edition referred to here published in 2013 by Coachwhip Publications, Greenville, Ohio.)
Gala (or Bauernschach) and Kegelschach [in English literature often described as Conquest]: Arbeiter, Bruno & Ruhnke, Willi (1937). Brettspiele. Voggenreiter, Potsdam. (1937 ed. written in fraktur characters, 2nd ed. 1943 in latin characters.)
Image of Waschi-Wurti from the BoardGameGeek entry by Stephan Krug, March 2016.
In addition to the description, a diagram illustrates the game board, which is a 5x5 array of grid points, and all possible patterns that score points. The scoring formations are as follows: a diagonal of length three connecting two sides (1 point, a in the diagram); a 2x2 square (called a “well,” 1 point, b in the diagram); a 2x3 rectangle (called a “double well," 2 points, the two b’s together in the diagram); a diagonal of length four connecting two sides (2 points, c in the diagram); a horizontal or vertical line of five (3 points, d in the diagram); and a diagonal line of five (called “crossing the heavens,” 4 points, e in the diagram).
The pieces, the text says, are of two contrasting colours but, in the black and white graphics, round and square pieces are depicted, 12 each.
The board starts empty. The game takes place in two phases. Firstly, the players take turns to place a piece on an empty intersection until all 24 are placed, the central point remaining vacant. Secondly, the players take turns to move one of their own pieces one space orthogonally to a free intersection. If one player begins the placement phase, the other player begins the movement phase.
Whenever a player makes a scoring shape, he removes the number of enemies pieces according to the score of the shape. No scores are counted during the first phase, except at the end, when all pieces are placed. Then, after the first move on the board, both players add up the total scores of shapes they have made during the placement phase, removing that total number of opposing pieces each, before proceeding with the rest of the second phase. In the rest of the second phase, as a player moves and creates a scoring combination, the scoring number of enemy pieces are removed immediately.
The objective is to reduce the opposing player to two pieces, at which point he can no longer score.
What we can say here—almost with certainty—is that that Waschi-Wurti, whose very name recalls that of Wufu, was adapted directly from Wufu, perhaps, using the very description in Ancient Games. In fact, both the number and the shape of the pieces, which in Wufu only denotes belonging, would otherwise be too coincidental.
The addition of the dice allowed Waschi-Wurti to be marketed as a game for children. Pagode does not use dice, which may imply that Oker developed Pagode directly from Wufu rather than Waschi-Wurti. However, the similarities between Waschi-Wurti and Pagode, including the two types of pieces for each player and the colouring of the board, seems to indicate that Pagode is a direct descendent of Waschi-Wurti, minus the dice, and that the latter game originates in Wufu, the original Chinese game.
The reliability of Ancient Games, which describes 29 traditional games, including some very obscure ones, is proven by the fact that, for all lesser-known games, there are references to the sources from which they were taken, and that these references, where verifiable, are genuine—a rare case for a book of this modest scope.
We should know more about this Wufu and find at least one other independent source. In any case, it is possible that the simple materials for Wufu, which have been used by many other games, have compromised its identification—Wufu may have been mixed up with some other game, and thereby lost. Perhaps Wufu is a game without a story, short-lived, or restricted to a limited area geographically. Until now, I have not found any reference to the game “Schuti,” mentioned on the packaging of Pagode.◾️
Acknowledgments
Rohrbough, Lynn (Ed.) (1938). Ancient Games from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, Ohio. (The edition referred to here published in 2013 by Coachwhip Publications, Greenville, Ohio.)
Gala (or Bauernschach) and Kegelschach [in English literature often described as Conquest]: Arbeiter, Bruno & Ruhnke, Willi (1937). Brettspiele. Voggenreiter, Potsdam. (1937 ed. written in fraktur characters, 2nd ed. 1943 in latin characters.)
Image of Waschi-Wurti from the BoardGameGeek entry by Stephan Krug, March 2016.