Thai Game "Bottle Gourd, Crab, Fish

[Tod Daniels]

เกมไทยชื่อ"น้ำเต้าปูปลา"...เล่นยังไง?

I have watched the people across the street from my soi on the Sukhumvit play this game every morning for many months as I make my way to read the paper and drink ice coffee.

I was able to glean quite quickly that it’s a gambling game, and a fast paced one at that given the rate at which money changes hands.

There are 6 spaces on the game; a bottle gourd, a crab, a fish, a chicken, a shrimp, and tiger. They use three dice with the same characters on it. About the only thing I can figure out is it's played almost like the game the thais play on their mobile or with dice, which they call ‘hi-low’, and is an odds betting kinda deal.

People cover the characters or a group of characters with money, then the box is shaken and turned over, people continue to put money down until they uncover the box showing the die faces. What I can't figure out is the odds or how the winnings are paid out.

Anyone got any idea how it's played.

BTW, here's a pic I found of the 'real' game, and on the edges it's got combinations of characters, but the game they play on the street is just a piece of hardboard with the 6 characters inked in with black marker. I think when they play combinations of characters they cover several with the bill they're betting with.

It's obviously a fun game as there are always a group of 6 to 10 people around boisterously playing and there is much banter between the players. During the weekdays, and even people dressed as office staff, security guards, etc play it while they wait for their bus.

Either it is played by a set of obscure rules or I am just too stupid to catch on (most likely the latter )

Perhaps you might wonder just what this has to do with thai language, but I thought the thai language pundits might know more about it than the run of the mill forum users.

Note to MODZ: if talking about this game is against forum rules because it appears to be a gambling game, feel free to delete it and accept my apologies.

Note to Thai Language MODZ: If you feel there is no value in discussing this in the thai language forum, feel free to move it and/or delete it.

Thanx

Edited June 12, 2010 by tod-daniels