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Gozitans playing brilli in the alley

Brilli (A Game unique to Gozo)
Explore the Traditional Lifestyle of Gozo

 

Brilli is a game still played by adults in Gharb Gozo. Part of this remote area is undisturbed by cars, where streets have retained their fuction as a meeting place for the villagers.

To play you need these objects
Nine skittles (brilli) and a spherical wooden ball. The skittles are arranged to form a square with three rows, each row containing three skittles. A different term is used to describe the skittles according to their position in the square. The four brilli at the corners are called qriemec, while the central skittle is referred to as is-sultan . The remaining four skittles are known as is-sekondi.
Each skittle is conical in shape, stability being provided by a metallic ring placed around the base. Is-Sultan has a spherical projection at its top to distinguish it from the other brilli.

To Play the game
At least five to six people are needed for the game to be played. The place chosen for the first throw (messa) is marked by a stone.

The first throw (il-moll) gains points according to the number and type of skittles dropped. Thus is-sultan gains 18 points, is-sekond 12 points while the qriemec 1 point. If however more than one type of pin is dropped (example: sultan and qarmuc ) only 2 points for each dropped pin is gained.

A line (il-Hazz) is drawn at the place where the ball stops after the first throw. The second attempt is thrown from this line and gains two points for every skittle dropped.

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