The main traditional games of Campeche are the spinning top, the marbles, the balero, the lottery and the piñata. These are common to other regions of Mexico.
As Campeche is a more rural state and with particular demographic characteristics, traditional games still survive.
The survival of these popular traditions depends on the oral and practical transmission from one generation to another.
These customs are an intrinsic part of the culture and idiosyncrasy of the people of Campeche.
You may also be interested in the traditions and customs of Campeche or its traditional games.
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1- The top
The spinning top is one of the most popular traditional games in Mexico and, by extension, the state of Campeche.
It consists of a top with a pointed end, usually made of metallic material, and a rope that is wound around the top.
To play, the spinning top is thrown hard against a flat surface, usually the ground, unwinding the string in one go.
It is about getting the top to turn on itself for as long as possible. In Campeche and Mexico one of the peculiarities is the manual decoration of the tops.
They are built in wood and sometimes have handcrafted motifs with Mayan representations.
2- The marbles
Marbles are small spherical balls that can be made of multiple materials: glass, ceramic, wood, steel, among others.
Although marbles are versatile in providing gameplay possibilities, the dynamics are almost always the same.
The marbles are thrown for the purpose of approaching other marbles or a target point on the ground. In Mexico the main game variants are the circle, the rhombus and the choya.
3- The bearing
The balero is a traditional game that consists of two parts: a stick or stem and a perforated ball tied to it with a string.
The object of the game is to insert the club into the hole in the ball. For this you have to resort to movements that are reminiscent of juggling.
The difficulty lies in controlling the force and the trajectory of the ball. It is important to master the movements of the wrist to increase the chances of success.
The set is generally made of wood and the decoration of the ball gives rise to creativity and artistic ingenuity.
It is common to find manual paintings, drawings, caricatures or other handmade prints, with a lot of color.
4- The lottery
The Mexican lottery is a game of chance that consists of a deck of 54 cards plus an indefinite number of cards or tables.
The cards are illustrated with characters such as a clown, a rooster, a devil, among others.
On the cards or tables, each player randomly receives 16 of the cards included in the game.
As the lottery cards are drawn blindly, each player marks those on his card or table until he completes his own and proclaims himself the winner.
There are different rules that are established prior to the start of the game. In essence, it is a native version of the traditional number bingo found in European and North American casinos.
5- The piñata
By definition, the piñata is a normally clay pot with seven spikes representing the seven deadly sins.
This pot is tied to a metal wire that holds it in suspension at a height of about two meters.
Present in open-air celebrations, the piñata is of Mexican origin although its use became popular in other countries and continents.
Inside the piñata, which someone blindfolded must hit with a stick, there are fruits, toys, sweets and other prizes. The objective is to break the pot and distribute the contents.
References
- «Traditional Mexican Games: fun activities to preserve our culture». Gretel García and Eduardo Torrijos. Ed. Selector. (1999).
- Games and traditional Mexican toys, in guiasparapadres.com
- «Traditional games of Mexico». María Guadalupe Rubio and Luis A. Carrasco. (2010).
- Traditional Mexican games, at Euroresidentes, euroresidentes.com
- "It runs and runs, the Mexican lottery", in El Universal, eluniversal.com.mx