HOW TO PLAY AFRINAISSANCE

Afrinaissance should be played by not more than 4 people. During play, anybody can start but age, integrity or any other criterion could be used to determine the person to begin. The play can move either clockwise or anti-clockwise.

§ Step 1: For each round, cards are distributed to the players. All of them must have equal number and each player should not have more than 5.

§ Step 2: OPs (the black pawn pieces) are distributed to all the players and each player is given 4 pieces. This is free start-up capital that a player could only completely use up if the player fails to accurately answer the first 4 questions. However, every player has one chance to decline answering the questions of any card the player deems too difficult. It is a shrewd way to preserve the 4 start-up pieces or to maintain an advantage of staying on top. Players who use up their sole chance of declining to answer as well as squander their 4 free start-up pieces could borrow once, just 4 pieces, from the bank (the remaining pieces). If the player still squanders the 4 pieces again, then the player can only borrow from other participants on conditions set by them. Otherwise, the player shall have to sit out that round. The remaining OPs are stored in a bank, along with all the CPs (the cream queen pieces). Unlike the OP, a player must earn every CP.

§ Step 3: The person to start is selected and the direction in which the game flows determined. The person to start chooses one card, any, from his stack of 5 and shows the picture on it to the next player to whom the questions are being directed. The player answering the questions must not cheat by trying to look at Face 2 (where the questions and answers are). The player is asked all four questions (a, b, c, d) on side 2 of the card. For each question correctly answered, the respondent scores 1 point: an OP. The player then claims his reward (from the bank) that is added to those already in the player’s possession. But if the player fails to answer correctly, the player pays into the bank by drawing on the player’s own pieces. Each time a player fails to answer accurately, any other player may volunteer and respond. However, since it is not the volunteer’s turn to play, the volunteer scores no point. The idea is to involve everyone during play in order to create a scholarly atmosphere as the game progresses. If none of the players is able to answer correctly, the answer should be read out so that participants could learn. If a player wants to score more points, when it is the player’s turn, the player could apply for a CP by yelling “Crown Piece!” before the card is flashed. If the player sees the card before yelling “Crown Piece!” the call is invalid. A call for a CP is an open expression of confidence in a player’s intelligence and abilities. Now, if the player goes on to answer all the questions correctly, the player receives a CP from the bank. A CP has a value of 6 points (that is 4 points representing rewards for the 4 questions accurately answered, plus an additional bonus of 2 points for the risk). However, if the player only answers three of the questions correctly, the player scores a minus 4 points; and pays an additional penalty of 2 points to the bank if the player succeeds in answering just 2 questions or less accurately. At the end of each round, that is when all the players have exhausted their five cards, points are recorded on a sheet of paper. Then a new set of cards is distributed and the same exercise repeated all over. At the end of the play, debts are settled with the bank and other participants and points are calculated. The person with the highest points wins the first position and is referred to as a “Cultivé or Cultivée!” Then the second…to the last. The last person goes away with the title of an “Aliené or Alienée!”

NB

The main purpose of the game is to educate Africans (broad sense) about themselves. It is also to educate the rest of the world about Africans. To make the game exciting, especially to non-Africans, certain rules may apply. Participants do not need to know all the names of the persons who appear on the cards. Well-known nicknames, clan names, and stage names are acceptable. For example, if a participant identifies Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela by just one of his names, the person scores the point. Similarly, a player is also right by identifying him using his clan name “Madiba”. “Satchmo” for “Louis Armstrong” is also good. After all, few Africans can say the full name of Angelique Kidjo (Angelique Kpasseloko Hinta Hounsinou Kango Manta Zogbin). However, a North American using the term “football player” to describe Didier Drogba or Pele may only score a point with some semantic clarifications. Similarly, European or African participants using the same term to describe Jim Brown or Michael Pinball Clemons must specify that they mean “American/Canadian football”. Otherwise, they too do not score a point. Certain precision may also be necessary. For example, Guinea must be qualified: Bissau, Conakry or Equatorial. The same is true for Congo: Brazzaville or Kinshasa. Pronunciation should not be an issue. Simple as words such asXhosaSibongile may appear, they are a perfect oral ambush for non-South Africans. Of course not to talk ofRolihlahla, the middle name of Nelson Mandela; or a common Afrikaner name such asViljoen.

An element to watch out in this game is identifying persons on the cards. It is very easy to confuse Yannick Noah with Ruud Gullit or Cuban boxer teofilo Stevenson with Muhammad Ali. Thabo Mbeki, Kofi Annan, former Jamaican PM, P.J. Patterson, and Wole Soyinka sometimes look alike. Ziggy Marley has often been confused with his father. However, being unable to correctly identify a person on a card does not necessarily mean that we do not know who they are when we are told their names. As the answer is given each time a respondent fails to provide