One of the items on display in our sales kiosk is a set of sheep or goat knucklebones, along with a handcrafted felt souvenir container in the shape of a Mongolian yurt. When thrown as dice, if the knucklebones land on four different sides — known as dörvön berkh — it can be considered very good luck!
Knucklebones are a good example of a traditional game that continues to be popular in Mongolia today, and whose existence is closely linked to nomadic culture.
Mongolian herders usually keep goats and sheep until maturity, making use of their wool or cashmere and milk. Older animals are used for meat and hides, but no part of the animal is wasted. Even the bones are used in toys, puzzles, and games, as with the knucklebones (rear anklebones), known in Mongolian as shagai.
About shagai
A large number of traditional Mongolian games are played using sheep and goat knucklebones.
Depending on the game the bones may be tossed like dice, flicked like marbles, shot at with arrows, caught in the hands, or simply collected according to the roll of a die.
In many knucklebone games the manner in which a tossed bone lands is significant. The bone can land on any of four sides, each of which is named for one of the animals in Mongolians’ herds: horse, sheep, camel, and goat.
The game of shooting shagai at a target, often played in tournaments during holiday festivals, has been registered by Mongolia in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Most other games are played informally among children or in families.
Popular games
Horse Race Game
This is one of the most common knucklebone games. It is usually played with two players, but more can also participate. A number of bones are lined up to represent the steps of a race course, and each player places one bone as a racehorse at the beginning of the track. Players take turns tossing four anklebones, moving their racehorses one step (i.e., one bone along the line of the course) for each “horse” obtained in the toss. The first player to reach the end of the course wins the game.
Birthing Camels
On his or her turn each player tosses all the bones onto the ground. If any bones have landed as camels, the player attempts to knock each one over so that it ends up on the sheep side, by flicking it with one of the other bones that previously landed as a sheep. The player continues his or her turn until there are either no camels or no sheep remaining. If there are no camels, the player collects all the sheep. If there are no sheep, however, the player must set aside all the camels and try to knock them over with the sheep obtained in subsequent turns. Once all the bones have been collected by the players, whoever has the most sheep wins.
Cat’s Game
A number of bones are set up two by two in a row, placed uniformly either on the sheep or on the goat side. Players take turns tossing a small object (often a piece of chain) into the air and, before the object can reach the ground, picking up one of the laid-out bones without disturbing the others next to it. If the surrounding bones have not moved the player can take another turn; otherwise the next player’s turn begins. Whoever manages to collect the most bones wins.
Full Toss
Between two and four players can participate, using any number of bones. Players take turns tossing all the bones onto the playing surface and counting the number of bones which have landed on horse and camel. If there are no camels, the player collects all the bones having landed on horse. If there are no horses, however, the player must return a number of horses to the general pool equivalent to the number of bones having landed on camel. If the player does not have enough horses to replace, he or she establishes a debt which must be repaid on subsequent turns. Once all bones have been collected, the player with the most bones is declared the winner.
Open Catch
Any number of players can participate in this game, using ten or more anklebones. On each turn the player places all the bones in his or her hands and tosses them into the air, then quickly turns his or her hands over and tries to catch the bones on the back of the hands. The player then throws the bones thus caught upwards into the air once more, and attempts to catch as many of the bones as possible by grabbing them in his or her fist. The bones caught in this manner are kept by the player. The game continues until all the bones have been collected, with the player having the most bones becoming the winner
Twelve Years
The main object of this game is to throw the anklebones so that they land on the “horse” side. Two players take turns tossing two anklebones, counting a point for each horse obtained in twelve rounds, corresponding to the twelve years of the traditional calendar. The player who obtains the highest number of points wins the game. If neither player obtains twelve horses in twelve tosses of the anklebones, the game begins anew. It is considered auspicious for a horse to land in the round corresponding to the player’s own year.>
Tossing Three Knucklebones
Any number of players can play towards an agreed-upon number of points. The players take turns tossing the three bones, scoring two points if all three bones land on the same side (i.e., three horses, sheep, camels, or goats), and one point if two of the bones are the same.
The Four Knucklebones
This game is played with four knucklebones (shagai). Players take turns tossing the four bones, earning eight points if all four land on different sides; four points if all four land on horse, sheep, camel or goat; and two points if the four bones land in two identical pairs (e.g., two sheep and two horse, two horse and two goat). If all four bones land on the same side following anyone’s throw, all players attempt to grab the bones as quickly as possible; if any player succeeds at obtaining all four bones, he or she is entitled to add their value to his or her score. The game is won when one of the players succeeds at overcoming the remaining players by an agreed-upon margin of points – typically ten, twenty, or thirty.
Four Animals
This game is set up by dividing the bones into four equal groups, set up to represent four different herds of animals – sheep and goats, camels, horses, and cattle. (For the purposes of this game the traditional “sheep” side of the shagai represents the cow, while the “goat” side represents both sheep and goats.) Players take turns tossing an anklebone, collecting one bone from the laid-out “herd” corresponding to the animal-side on which the bone has landed : thus if the tossed bone lands on the camel side, for example, the player will take one bone from the camel herd and place it in his or her own camel stock. During the course of the game some of the herds may become depleted, in which case a player tossing a bone corresponding to that animal must return one animal from his or her own stock to the appropriate herd. A player who has no large animals (cow, horse, camel) must substitute two small animals (goats and sheep) when required to return large animals to the general herd. Once all the animals have been taken by the players the number of animals in each player’s stock is counted – two small animals being equivalent in value to a single large one – with the player having the most animals declared the winner.
Motley Turtle Game (alag melkhii)
This knucklebone game is commonly played by families at the lunar New Year. The object of the game is to collect different parts of the turtle according to the roll of a die. Before play commences, knucklebones are laid out in the form of the turtle, as follows : head – 1 bone; ears – 2 bones; eyes – 2 bones; neck – 3 bones; back – 6 x 6 = 36 bones; legs – 4 bones each (16 bones); claws – 5 bones each (20 bones); heart – 1 bone; kidneys – 2 bones.
Players take turns throwing a die, taking a part of the turtle containing a number of bones corresponding to the number shown on the die. Thus a player who rolls a 1 can take either the head or the heart, a player who rolls a two can take the ears, eyes, or kidneys, and so on. If the parts of the turtle corresponding to the roll of the die have all been taken, however, the player must replace an equivalent number of bones. Once all the parts of the turtle have been collected, the player with the greatest number of bones is declared the winner.