Kwąt
 Two kwąt dice | |
| Years active | ~350 |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Dice Gambling |
| Players | 2+ |
| Setup time | <1 minute |
| Playing time | 10 seconds ~ 15 minutes |
| Random chance | Ubiquitous |
| Skill(s) required | Luck |
| Synonym(s) | Dùùrang, Dyna |
Kwąt (kuOt, "Partners" or "Friends", Awatese: [kwɐt]) is a gambling dice game (nguniřął pamąxuhą) originating in Awating. Among non-northern peoples, the game is called dùùrang in Ngigu and dyna in Bilemã (both meaning “stones”). The Awatese name has been attested since the late classical era.
Dice (nguniřął) for kwąt are six-sided, specific to the game and are usually readily available around the country in retail. In rural areas, they are commonly carved out of wood or other similar materials, with pips carved into the sides or marked with markers or paint. The game is often played at family gatherings, during holidays, and in other casual settings.
Archaeological evidence suggests that kwąt has been played in some form for at least three centuries, with rare specimens of well-preserved kwąt dice having been found dating to the middle of the 17th century. During the Three Straits era beginning in the 1880s, gambling was made illegal in Awating and Manea, and kwąt in particular was a prime example of a dice game used widely for gambling; however, this law was not always enforced, and the game was still widely played throughout colonial occupation. Kwąt was also popular among Awatese resistance fighters during the Pangyeoun War, where the game also saw increased spread elsewhere in Akulanen.
After Awatese sovereignty in 1981, kwąt became more commonly played among youth due in part to the coinciding governmental focus on revitalizing markers of national identity and the reintroduction of the Awatese script to the educational curriculum. Kwąt is very commonly played by people across generations in Awating today, and the game often evokes a sense of nostalgia for those that had played the game often in childhood.
The game remains a highly popular pastime in Awating, but has also seen play in neighboring Manea as well as to a lesser extent in the wider subcontinent of Akulanen. A subclass of other dice and board games have been derived from or are influenced by kwąt, among them emona and tpanaa. Kwąt dice have featured prominently in mythology and traditional stories as symbols of fate, chance, luck, and fairness.
Rules
Setup
Kwąt is suitable for any number of players, but tends to be played in larger groups, usually of 3 to 5. Players sit in a circle formation so that there is a space in the middle for the dice to be thrown. Each person starts with an equal amount of tokens, most often 10 but ranging from 5 to 15 - these can be any small object, e.g. sticks, coins, marbles, etc. The pot begins with a set number of tokens by default, usually 5, kept in a separate container in the middle throughout the game. Whenever the pot is emptied, each player puts two tokens into the pot.
The oldest player goes first (sometimes changed to the youngest, the tallest, etc.) and play order is clockwise. Play begins when the first player takes a roll with either or both of the dice. A player usually rolls both dice simultaneously, but they may alternatively roll the first die before the second.
Gameplay
One die shows the action that must be taken that turn. Each face of the die is inscribed with a representation of the action, either a symbol representing the action or a letter of the Awatese script standing for a verb root. This die is natively referred to as NuniRoxApemehon nguniřął a pemehąn, “acting die,” and is rolled either with the counting die or before it. Any remainders are ignored; if a player rolls to take two tokens from the pot (oyo řą) but it only contains one, the player simply takes the one token and the pot is replenished as normal.
| Letter | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
take |
The player takes the amount of tokens shown from the pot. |
 |
put |
The player puts the amount of tokens shown into the pot. |
 |
give |
The player gives the amount shown to the player on their right. |
 |
thank |
The player receives the amount shown from the player on their right. |
 |
go around |
All players hand their tokens over to the person to their right so that everyone’s tokens are rotated. N.B.: Counting die is ignored. |
push |
The player does nothing. If not already rolled, roll the other die to determine if the player receives an extra roll. |
Another die shows the amount of tokens used for the action shown on the first die. When letters are included, the symbols shown for the fixed numerical values are digits in the Awatese script, while the other two symbols are the words spelled out in Awatese; many dice do not include letters and only show the shapes. This die is natively referred to as NuniRoxApezohon nguniřął a peząhąn, “counting die,” and may be rolled after the acting die or together with it.
| Symbol | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
one |
One token. | |
two |
Two tokens. | |
three |
Three tokens. | |
half |
Half of the pot, or half of the player’s tokens. Rounds down to the nearest whole number. Half of 1 is considered 0. | |
all, every |
The entire pot, or all of the player’s tokens. | |
nothing |
No tokens. If first die shows blank, roll again. Otherwise, play resumes without action. |
As described above, a player who rolls two blank dice (known as URu uřu “air”) receives an extra roll (pemeRuAnniN, pemeřu a naning). There is no limit on extra rolls if double blanks continue to be rolled.
A player is eliminated or out (known as pepok pepąk “leaving” or pemeIARtiN pemeyařting “becoming poor”) when they run out of tokens or are otherwise unable to continue the game without running out of tokens. Players cannot be “revived.” The last player with tokens remaining in their possession is the winner.
Analysis
Kwąt is often cited as an unbalanced game that relies entirely on luck. The game is almost always played in low-stakes environments, and legal tender is usually not used as tokens during the game, especially at family events such as gatherings and cookouts; nevertheless, real money is not an uncommon type of token, usually 1-xaning coins (about USD 0.08 each).
As an example, the odds of the first turn of the game resulting in a loss for only that player is around 5.56%, and the odds of the first turn resulting in a loss for any player is 8.34%, both comparatively quite high. Depending on the pot, tokens and amount of players, the chance of a player being eliminated on a roll can be as high as 27.78%. It is for this reason that games of kwąt can vary widely in length, and most matches with low numbers of players rarely last more than a few minutes, making it ideal for repeated play.