Balut (game)
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Balut is a game of
dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
, similar to
Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier ...
, created by United States soldiers as an alternative to
poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, and is a popular pastime of businessmen overseas. The game is named after a delicacy made from the fetal duck egg available in some Southeast Asian countries.


Origin and initial spread of the game

Edgar "Eddie" Woolbright was an American soldier stationed in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
who remained there for the rest of his life, becoming a successful local businessman. The origin story that is recounted for the game by its players is that two U.S. soldiers were in one of Woolbright's early establishments in
Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, a ...
, the Woolbright Tacloban Airline Hotel, stuck for a drinking/gambling game to play because they had no playing cards but wanted to play poker. They settled on playing poker with dice rather than cards, inventing what they initially called "poker dice". Originally the game's format only extended to two players, but some Europeans staying at the same hotel who also wanted to play extended the game to more than two players. The "poker dice" game gained its current name when Woolbright and some players out on a walk one day, hearing the cries of "balut!" by balut egg vendors, decided that that would be the name of the game. Woolbright took the game from Tacloban to his later establishments in the Philippines as his businesses grew, and also played it at the British Club in
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
. Other people exported it elsewhere: a British captain to Singapore, and some expatriate Scandinavians to Thailand. An International Balut Federation was created in 1972.


Denmark

The international Danish community has taken the game as a popular method of social interaction abroad and at home, with Danish expatriates/businessmen gathering to play the game monthly. Rules of the game,
code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...
including dress code are enforced by participants and by the gamemasters, and games are organized by members of the International Balut Federation, or IBF.


Play

The game involves rolling five dice up to 3 times to make various combinations, which are noted on a scorecard. A Balut is a five-of-a-kind of any denomination, but unlike in Yahtzee it counts for little in terms of points. Players who obtain a Balut announce it to the other players by calling out "Balut!"—similar to calling out "
bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...
!", and note it on a special scorecard. Players try to guess before gameplay how many Baluts will be made during the game; correctly guessing the total number can earn a prize.http://www.balut.org/rules.html On a turn, player may roll the dice up to three times. After a roll, player may take one or more dice out of play to save their result and then roll the remaining dice. There are seven scoring combinations that the player may only achieve once. At the end of the turn, the player will score per the combo created. If the player cannot create a combo, then player must scratch one of their remaining unfulfilled combos. That scratched combo is no longer playable for the remainder of the game. Play then continues to the left until all players have completed the 7 combo possibilities with a score or a scratch. Further rounds may be played...high score wins. Possible Combinations: * Fours - Scores 4 points for each die face of four * Fives - Scores 5 points for each die face of five * Sixes - Scores 6 points for each die face of six * Straight - Scores 50 points for a five die sequence e.g., 2-3-4-5-6 * House - One Triple, one pair - scores sum of all die faces * Choice - Scores sum of all five dice * Balut - Five of a kind - Scores 30 points


South East Asia variation

In 1973, the game was brought into Singapore and a set of rules was established at Singapore Town Club in 1978. This set of rules was later spread to other private clubs in Singapore and to other
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. Although the Singapore Town Club ceased existence in 2000 other clubs continue the name for the tournament. These Clubs organize regular local and international tournaments as well as gathering together each year for the STC Balut Interport Championship. The 28th was held at the
British Club Bangkok The British Club is an expatriates' social club in Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded as a British gentlemen's club in 1903, and established in its current location on Surawong Road in 1910. The club's operations were disrupted by the Second Worl ...
in 2008 and the 29th was held at the Sabah Golf & Country Club in 2009. In 2017 the international competition was held at the Sarawak Club in
Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
,
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. In 2010 the 30th STC Interport Competition was held at the British Club Bangkok on 19 to 21 November.


References


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* {{Dice games Dice games