[D20] G is for Games

The people of the Ashford Valley are industrious and serious. However, when it comes to games and play, they are just as serious about fun as they are about work.

Three common Ashford Valley games involve dice, coins and playing cards.

The dice game is called Odd-Even. In the game, a dealer puts 2 standard 6-sided dice into a cup, shakes it up and upends it on the table, with the final dice roll covered by the cup and hidden from the players. The player then bid, either against each other or against the dealer (if played in a gambling den), whether the dice roll is even or odd. After the bets are placed, the dealer reveals the roll and the winners take the bids.

The coin game is called The Emperor's Face. A player will hide a number of coins under his hand (or a box or plate), and the other players have to guess something about the coins - like the number present, or whether more heads or tails face-up, or type of coin, or even markings on the coin. Bets are made with the guess, success means the bet is doubled, failure means the bet is lost. Many players collect unusual coins or create them to add unusual features. This can be done with pretty much anything, including stones, dice and bones.

The playing card game is called Ivy. Each player bets an amount before the cards are dealt. Then each one gets five cards. If the value of the cards totals 49 or higher, or 11 or lower, then they cry out "Ivy!" and win double the amount bid. If no one gets Ivy, then the game devolves around the table with the players trying to form sets of three or four cards, of the same value or the same suit. These sets can be anywhere on the table. Each round, the players draw new cards. The first player who gets rid of all his cards cries "Ivy!" and wins.