5 ms·

Uckers

40 points by andyjohnson0 11y ago

boothead 11y ago
I'm a former Royal Marine, and I don't think ever played uckers. Not sure how widespread it is nowadays, but I think it might still be played at sea.
- Bouncingsoul1 11y ago
  This game (or an variation) is actually quiet popular in germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch_%C3%A4rgere_dich_nicht https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch_%C3%A4rgere_dich_nicht http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/pussers-ludo-uckers http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/pussers-ludo-uckers
- cmdkeen 11y ago
  I can assure you it is still common at sea - but then Royal have been rather focused on hot and sandy places for a decade. Essentially one of the coffee tables in a mess will be set up as an Uckers board. On older ships it will have the names of those who have achieved a perfect score written around the side - for some reason often the WAFUs (flight crew) and WEO/DWEO (weapon engineering officer)... Different ships and parts of the Royal Navy (such as the Fleet Air Arm) will have their own variations on the rules. Words from Uckers such as "mixiblob" are common parlance in "Jackspeak" the language of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. You'll often find sailors have produced their own boards / pieces. For instance the last board I played on had pieces that had been crafted from 20mm shell casings which fit perfectly on that sized board.
hmate9 11y ago
Actually a popular game in Hungary. Played it a lot when I was a kid.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
dreen 11y ago
This is one of the many Cross and Circle games[1], all of which use very similar design. Other examples include Pachisi (oldest), Ludo and "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" (last one is called simply "The Chinese" in Eastern Europe and is quite popular there) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_and_circle_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_and_circle_game
- breakingcups 11y ago
  "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" and the Dutch version "Mens erger je niet" literaly translates to "Man, don't worry" or "Man, don't get aggravated", where man is gender neutral, for those who were wondering about the long name.
  - lorenzhs 11y ago
    It should also be said that Mensch ärger dich nicht feels like it was purposefully designed to be the most infuriating board game possible.
    - MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
      I think its a draw between "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" and "Malefiz". God do I love "Malefiz". Hehe.
  - gohrt 11y ago
    Haha, in USA it is called Aggravation. I should have known the board game corporation didn't invent it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggravation_(board_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggravation_(board_game)
- brunosutic 11y ago
  This game is pretty popular among children here in Croatia. As a child, I played it a lot. It's called "Čovječe ne ljuti se" - a literal translation of the German version "Mensch ärgere dich nicht".
- spacemanmatt 11y ago
dingo_bat 11y ago
It's very popular in India too. we call it Ludo.
- petewailes 11y ago
  This isn't Ludo. Same board, different rules. If you enjoy ludo though, you'll like this.
- DanBC 11y ago
  Your comment made me look for articles. Here's a nice one about different forms of this game and it has rules for a few different variants. (Ludo is one; Uckers is another): http://kreedaakaushalya.blogspot.co.uk/ http://kreedaakaushalya.blogspot.co.uk/ There are a bunch of Indian games that deserve to be more popular outside India. Carrom is one. Although typing after a game may be a bit painful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom Here are a few more: http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/aadu-puli-attam-atu-puli-attam http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/aadu-puli-at... http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/langa-katta-lanka-kattai http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/langa-katta-... This one looks like it is waiting for some probability analysis: http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/sozhi-urutturadhu-coli-urutturatu http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/sozhi-uruttu...
  - swatkat 11y ago
    Yes! I grew up playing Snake & Ladder[1], Ludo, Carrom among other board games. They're all very popular in India. One more indoor game that's quite popular in southern India is Channe Mane[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_and_Ladders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_and_Ladders [2] http://nivedithatm.blogspot.in/2012/11/long-lost-childhood-games-channe-mane.html http://nivedithatm.blogspot.in/2012/11/long-lost-childhood-g...
bhrgunatha 11y ago
My dad was in the RAF while I was growing up. This brings back a lot of memories. This and cribbage are two games my parents and their friends played that will always remind me of places where we lived as I grew up.
- arethuza 11y ago
  My dad was in the RAF in WW2 and I do have vague recollections of playing a game like Ludo as a kid - maybe it was this. [NB One odd thing that my dad picked up in the RAF that was a bit unusual was a love of Homer - he was stationed somewhere in Arctic Canada with an Oxbridge classics don].
DanBC 11y ago
Has there been any analysis of optimal play?
- boothead 11y ago
  Optimal would be sailing round the Caribbean with plenty of runs ashore in exotic locations. Subobtimal would be somewhere in the Southern Ocean in a force 10. :-)
CRidge 11y ago
I stand corrected :) Old: This is probably the best known board game for small children in Norway, known as Ludo (https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludo https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludo - Norwegian).
- DanBC 11y ago
  A few people have pointed to Ludo. Uckers and Ludo are played on the same board, but they have different rules.
  - cmdkeen 11y ago
    Indeed as the article notes being called a "Ludo player" is an insult when playing Uckers. This game is an awful lot more about frustrating your opponent, which is what makes it fun in a mess. A good Uckers game is a spectator sport.
davidhunter 11y ago
I was on the University of London Air Squadron (for students of London universities who were sponsored by the RAF) and this game was a huge deal. It was played exclusively in the crew room - a room where you sat, ate pot noodles and 'bantered; with other students until it was your turn to go flying. Of course, the senior students had the luxury of introducing 'rules' as they went along - a power I guarantee I did not abuse... - "Touchy movey": if you touch a piece, you have to move it - No counting spaces with your piece as you move. Have to move it directly to the end position - "Acey deucey": you get an extra turn when you roll 1-2 - "Acey deucey of no usey": chanted in amusement by the other players if there were no valid moves you could play after rolling a 1-2. The dice passed to the next person and you didn't get the extra turn
lordnacho 11y ago
If you grew up in Denmark you could not avoid Ludo, a simplified version of this. Everywhere that has kids has a copy of it.
- brainary 11y ago
  Same in Sweden. Called "Fia" here. The version where you can push back other players pieces is called "Fia med knuff" (lit. "Fia with push").
knodi123 11y ago
How serious and common are some these rules? "A "stand up" finish is for the more debonair player who wishes to finish in style. When requiring a number to finish that is possible from one dice throw. The player can state "stand up finish", throw his dice, stand up and walk away from the game without looking at the resulting throw in the hope that the correct number has appeared and he has won. Failing to do so, results in a slinking back to the board to continue, accompanied by polite banter from those present."
kenbellows 11y ago
Reminds me of the UK/US game "Sorry!"[1], based on Pachisi; It's not strictly a cross-and-circle game, since it's square and the four spokes don't meet in a cross, but it follows in the same spirit. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry!_(game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry!_(game)

40 points by andyjohnson0 11y ago

I'm a former Royal Marine, and I don't think ever played uckers. Not sure how widespread it is nowadays, but I think it might still be played at sea.

Bouncingsoul1 11y ago
This game (or an variation) is actually quiet popular in germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch_%C3%A4rgere_dich_nicht https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch_%C3%A4rgere_dich_nicht http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/pussers-ludo-uckers http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/pussers-ludo-uckers
cmdkeen 11y ago
I can assure you it is still common at sea - but then Royal have been rather focused on hot and sandy places for a decade. Essentially one of the coffee tables in a mess will be set up as an Uckers board. On older ships it will have the names of those who have achieved a perfect score written around the side - for some reason often the WAFUs (flight crew) and WEO/DWEO (weapon engineering officer)... Different ships and parts of the Royal Navy (such as the Fleet Air Arm) will have their own variations on the rules. Words from Uckers such as "mixiblob" are common parlance in "Jackspeak" the language of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. You'll often find sailors have produced their own boards / pieces. For instance the last board I played on had pieces that had been crafted from 20mm shell casings which fit perfectly on that sized board.

hmate9 11y ago

Actually a popular game in Hungary. Played it a lot when I was a kid.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

dreen 11y ago

This is one of the many Cross and Circle games[1], all of which use very similar design. Other examples include Pachisi (oldest), Ludo and "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" (last one is called simply "The Chinese" in Eastern Europe and is quite popular there) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_and_circle_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_and_circle_game

breakingcups 11y ago
"Mensch ärgere dich nicht" and the Dutch version "Mens erger je niet" literaly translates to "Man, don't worry" or "Man, don't get aggravated", where man is gender neutral, for those who were wondering about the long name.
- lorenzhs 11y ago
  It should also be said that Mensch ärger dich nicht feels like it was purposefully designed to be the most infuriating board game possible.
  - MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
    I think its a draw between "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" and "Malefiz". God do I love "Malefiz". Hehe.
- gohrt 11y ago
  Haha, in USA it is called Aggravation. I should have known the board game corporation didn't invent it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggravation_(board_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggravation_(board_game)
brunosutic 11y ago
This game is pretty popular among children here in Croatia. As a child, I played it a lot. It's called "Čovječe ne ljuti se" - a literal translation of the German version "Mensch ärgere dich nicht".
spacemanmatt 11y ago

dingo_bat 11y ago

It's very popular in India too. we call it Ludo.

petewailes 11y ago
This isn't Ludo. Same board, different rules. If you enjoy ludo though, you'll like this.
DanBC 11y ago
Your comment made me look for articles. Here's a nice one about different forms of this game and it has rules for a few different variants. (Ludo is one; Uckers is another): http://kreedaakaushalya.blogspot.co.uk/ http://kreedaakaushalya.blogspot.co.uk/ There are a bunch of Indian games that deserve to be more popular outside India. Carrom is one. Although typing after a game may be a bit painful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom Here are a few more: http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/aadu-puli-attam-atu-puli-attam http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/aadu-puli-at... http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/langa-katta-lanka-kattai http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/langa-katta-... This one looks like it is waiting for some probability analysis: http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/sozhi-urutturadhu-coli-urutturatu http://www.traditionalgames.in/home/board-games/sozhi-uruttu...
- swatkat 11y ago
  Yes! I grew up playing Snake & Ladder[1], Ludo, Carrom among other board games. They're all very popular in India. One more indoor game that's quite popular in southern India is Channe Mane[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_and_Ladders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_and_Ladders [2] http://nivedithatm.blogspot.in/2012/11/long-lost-childhood-games-channe-mane.html http://nivedithatm.blogspot.in/2012/11/long-lost-childhood-g...

bhrgunatha 11y ago

My dad was in the RAF while I was growing up. This brings back a lot of memories. This and cribbage are two games my parents and their friends played that will always remind me of places where we lived as I grew up.

arethuza 11y ago
My dad was in the RAF in WW2 and I do have vague recollections of playing a game like Ludo as a kid - maybe it was this. [NB One odd thing that my dad picked up in the RAF that was a bit unusual was a love of Homer - he was stationed somewhere in Arctic Canada with an Oxbridge classics don].

DanBC 11y ago

Has there been any analysis of optimal play?

boothead 11y ago
Optimal would be sailing round the Caribbean with plenty of runs ashore in exotic locations. Subobtimal would be somewhere in the Southern Ocean in a force 10. :-)

CRidge 11y ago

I stand corrected :) Old: This is probably the best known board game for small children in Norway, known as Ludo (https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludo https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludo - Norwegian).

DanBC 11y ago
A few people have pointed to Ludo. Uckers and Ludo are played on the same board, but they have different rules.
- cmdkeen 11y ago
  Indeed as the article notes being called a "Ludo player" is an insult when playing Uckers. This game is an awful lot more about frustrating your opponent, which is what makes it fun in a mess. A good Uckers game is a spectator sport.

davidhunter 11y ago

I was on the University of London Air Squadron (for students of London universities who were sponsored by the RAF) and this game was a huge deal. It was played exclusively in the crew room - a room where you sat, ate pot noodles and 'bantered; with other students until it was your turn to go flying. Of course, the senior students had the luxury of introducing 'rules' as they went along - a power I guarantee I did not abuse... - "Touchy movey": if you touch a piece, you have to move it - No counting spaces with your piece as you move. Have to move it directly to the end position - "Acey deucey": you get an extra turn when you roll 1-2 - "Acey deucey of no usey": chanted in amusement by the other players if there were no valid moves you could play after rolling a 1-2. The dice passed to the next person and you didn't get the extra turn

lordnacho 11y ago

If you grew up in Denmark you could not avoid Ludo, a simplified version of this. Everywhere that has kids has a copy of it.

brainary 11y ago
Same in Sweden. Called "Fia" here. The version where you can push back other players pieces is called "Fia med knuff" (lit. "Fia with push").

knodi123 11y ago

How serious and common are some these rules? "A "stand up" finish is for the more debonair player who wishes to finish in style. When requiring a number to finish that is possible from one dice throw. The player can state "stand up finish", throw his dice, stand up and walk away from the game without looking at the resulting throw in the hope that the correct number has appeared and he has won. Failing to do so, results in a slinking back to the board to continue, accompanied by polite banter from those present."

kenbellows 11y ago

Reminds me of the UK/US game "Sorry!"[1], based on Pachisi; It's not strictly a cross-and-circle game, since it's square and the four spokes don't meet in a cross, but it follows in the same spirit. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry!_(game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry!_(game)