Barjees
B
PLAYERS
2-4
DIFFICULTY
SETTING
Indoor
MATERIALS
- An embroidered cloth or board marked with numbered zones and a track
- A handful of small cowrie shells
- One token per player
HOW TO PLAY
1
Players sit around the marked cloth, which is divided into zones each worth a different point value.
2
On a turn, a player casts the handful of shells onto the cloth and reads the result from which zones the shells land in and how many land open-side up.
3
Certain shell combinations unlock a bonus zone, grant an extra throw, or set the number of spaces a token may move along the shared track.
4
Players take turns casting the shells and advancing their token toward the finish according to the score they read.
5
Storytelling and conversation between throws are part of the tradition, with elders often narrating the meaning behind a striking shell pattern.
6
The first player to move their token all the way around the track wins the round.