Cetno i licho is a simple
game of chance
A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, or numbered balls drawn from a ...
, of
ancient European provenance (see ''par-impar''), where the players had to guess if the hidden objects were ''even'' (''czetno'', ''cetno'', ''cet'' or ''čet'') or ''odd'' (''licho'', see
likho
Likho, liho ( uk, Лихо, be, лі́ха, pl, licho russian: Лихо) is an embodiment of evil fate and misfortune in Slavic mythology, a creature with one eye, often depicted as an old, skinny woman in black (Лихо одноглазое, ...
, or ''liszka'') in number, with ''licho'' also meaning 'bad luck' or 'devil'. The counted objects could also be white or black pawns or lines drawn in ashes, and the game had mystical overtones of invoking the
Sudice, the Slavic counterpart of the
Fates
The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on a ...
(compare the Old English term ''
wyrd
Wyrd is a concept in Anglo-Saxon culture roughly corresponding to fate or personal destiny. The word is ancestral to Modern English ''weird'', whose meaning has drifted towards an adjectival use with a more general sense of "supernatural" or "u ...
'').
See also
*
Morra (game)
Morra is a hand game that dates back thousands of years to ancient Roman and Greek times. Each player simultaneously reveals their hand, extending any number of fingers, and calls out a number. Any player who successfully guesses the total number ...
*
Odds and evens (hand game)
Odds and evens is a simple game of chance and hand game, involving two people simultaneously revealing a number of fingers and winning or losing depending on whether they are odd or even, or alternatively involving one person picking up coins or ...
References
In literature
''Cetno i licho: literary essays'' by Żółkiewski
''Cet czy Licho'',
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the ...
External links
The name of the game blog
Games of chance
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