[D9 EA] Playing Games, Not Hearts (Amaya's) [Closed]

[Soshi Taira]

Taira likewise sipped the tea, enjoying it in a moment of silence, and then inquiring. "Where would you like to begin?"

[Ide Amaya]

"Perhaps you can tell me what games you can teach me, and we can go from there?"

[Soshi Taira]

Taira chuckled. "All manner of silly games for bored yoriki, but I can also at least show you the basics of Seven Winds, a dice game, Serpent's nest, a dexterity game, 4 Elements, a game of strategy and luck... or Seals and Shadows... a bit of a more complex matter."

Yes. He was an absolute nerd.

[Ide Amaya]

Laughing, soft and sweet, "thank you for making my choice easy for me, for we should start with dice before I embarrass myself with lack of reflexes, or dishonour you by an ineptitude for strategy."

[Soshi Taira]

"They might surprise you."

Taira chuckled, and then fished about his satchel, fetching a small pouch.

From it he extracted seven dice, six of them marked with numbers, and one with names, 'North, East, South, West, Monsoon, Haze'

Laying them before him, he inquired, "Have you played many games with dice?"

[Ide Amaya]

"There was one. My mother did not want the Moto teaching me gambling games. I think I was lucky she let me play Five-Kind," she smiles warmly.

[Soshi Taira]

"Five-Kind.. I don't know it. Perhaps you can show it to me after?"

Smiling he added, "Seven winds is a game of pushing your luck. It is simple in theory, but does have some complexity. Primarily, it is quick and easy enough to play on a long watch."

Pushing the dice over to Amaya, he continued, "Each round, you pick up the dice and roll them, and then pick one or more to keep. You keep rolling any unkept dice until you've kept them all. Does that make sense so far?"

[Ide Amaya]

"You probably know Five-Kind by some other name. It starts from a similar roll-and-keep premise, but you may only roll three times."

[Soshi Taira]

"Ah."

Taira nodded.

"Well, if you understand the basic premise, then the only remaining concern is scoring."

Taking a slow breath, he added, "You may want to get tea, or that coffee stuff. It's part of the fun to have something to drink while you play."

[Ide Amaya]

"Ah, the difficult part," she laughs a little, and sets about preparing the coffee. She opens a small paper packet, and the rich aroma drifts out, bold and fresh. She empties the packet into a clean pot, the ground cherries looking much like freshly turned soil, but not quite as dark. She fills the pot with hot water and places the lid on top. "Teach me the scoring while it steeps, and then I can pour."

[Soshi Taira]

Taira gazed at the strange beans with a fascinated look.

Regaining his focus, he nodded. "Scoring then."

With a chuckle, he indicated the numbered dice.

"These dice represent the strength of the wind. You will sum them at the end of the round, once you have kept all of the dice."

Picking up the named one, he added, "This is the wind, and it determines what sort of result you are looking for. The north and south winds need to be as strong as possible, if you get a sum of 30, they have a full score of 30 points, and you lose 1 for each sum you fall short by... plus 1 for every additional point... so for instance, a sum of 25 would score 30, minus 1, minus 2, minus 3, minus 4, minus 5. A final score of 15. The minimum you can score in a round is 5 points... and to make it more interesting, a North wind is worth twice that of a south wind, so you double the points you earn if you have one."

Chuckling, he demonstrated the next two sides. "East and West wish the weakest winds you can managed, so your target is 5 points. For each number you exceed that... the same rule applies. West winds are worth twice those of East."

Showing the final two sides, he added, "A Monsoon requires a perfect score of 30. If you manage it, you get 100 points. If you fail, you get none. A Haze scores no points."

[Ide Amaya]

The intense smell of coffee steams from the pot as she places one tiny hand next to the numbered dice, "for the North and South winds, one seeks to roll a total of thirty or more," she repeats, "if you are successful in this goal, thirty points for the South wind, and sixty for the North?"

She thinks a moment before continuing, "if you are unsuccessful, however," this gives her a little difficulty, "from thirty you subtract an incrementally increasing penalty for each point you missed, to a minimum of five. Then doubling the result for the North wind?"

I'm sure it's easier in practice, she reassures herself.

[Soshi Taira]

"Basically, yes."

(Taira's player is dumb and mixed up his math, it's 36 points for perfect score, not 30. )

"The decision of when to keep your wind is the most important... you have to know when to commit to a given path, either aiming to go high or low... and avoiding ending up with a monsoon or haze."

The smell was strange.

He gazed thoughtfully at the pot. "The smell is quite strong... is that normal?"

[Ide Amaya]

She inhales deeply, "oh yes, you'll find coffee is not like tea at all. Tea soothes and refreshes, while coffee revitalises." She carefully moves the pot closer, to disturb the grounds as little as possible. "Demonstrate for me?"

[Soshi Taira]

Taira nodded, drawing the dice up.

Throwing the dice, he examined them as they lay. After a long moment, he said, comfortably, "I'll take both 6s, and the 5, and then roll the rest."