Morra is a
hand game
Hand games are games played using only the hands of the players. Hand games exist in a variety of cultures internationally, and are of interest to academic studies in ethnomusicology and music education. Hand games are used to teach music litera ...
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 of fingers revealed by all players combined scores a point.
Morra can be played to decide issues, much as two people might toss a coin, or for
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
.
Rules
While there are many variations of Morra, most forms can be played with a minimum of two players. In the most popular version, all players throw out a single hand, each showing zero to five fingers, and call out their guess at what the sum of all fingers shown will be. If one player guesses the sum, that player earns one point. The first player to reach three points wins the game.
Some variants of Morra involve money, with the winner earning an amount equal to the sum of fingers displayed.
History

Morra was known to the
ancient Romans
The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens
(; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...
and is popular around the world, especially in Italy. In ancient Rome, it was called ''micatio'', and playing it was referred to as ''micare digitis''; literally, "to flash with the fingers". As time passed, the name became morra, a corruption of the verb ''micare''. The game was so common in ancient Rome that there was a proverb used to denote an honest person which made reference to it: ''dignus est quicum in tenebris mices'', literally, "he is a worthy man with whom you could play ''micatio'' in the dark". ''Micatio'' became so common that it came to be used to settle disputes over the sale of merchandise in the Roman forum. This practice was eventually banned by
Apronius, prefect of the city. The game followed Roman colonists as they spread through
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
and
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. The game is also mentioned by
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
, but it seems that it has not been very common in Greece.
Today, morra can be found throughout
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(notably in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, where it is called ),
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, the
Province of Teruel
Teruel ( Catalan: ''Terol'' ) is a province of Aragon, in the northeast of Spain. The capital is Teruel.
It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz), Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Z ...
in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
,
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
,
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
,
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
, and
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. There is also a variant in Spain called "
Chinos
Chino cloth ( ) is a twill fabric originally made from pure cotton. The most common items made from it, trousers, are widely called chinos. Today it is also found in cotton-synthetic blends.
Developed in the mid-19th century for British and Fren ...
" where coins are used instead of fingers. Morra played in
Arab countries
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
is called ''mukharaja''. In
southern France
Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
it is called ''la mourre'', while in Istria, Dalmatia and Herzegovina it is called ''šijavica''. In
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
it is called ''hua quan'', which translates as "fist quarrel",
[Ifrah, Georges. The Universal History of Numbers. p. 51] and is played as a drinking game. It is also popular in
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n communities with large Italian populations, sometimes known as "
Little Italy
Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
" in their area. In the city of
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second-most populous city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on ...
, an annual tournament is held in February. Money raised during the tournament is given to a local charity associated with Helping Hands.
In 2005, the IFC, short for Italian Fingers Championship, became an official tournament for a modified version of Morra that is played in teams.
The game of morra is described on the images in the
Theban tombs of MK, Beni Hassan (tomb 9) and the
26th dynasty
The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...
tomb of Aba (number 36).
[Ifrah, Georges. The Universal History of Numbers. p. 52]
In 2010 and 2014 A. Zizi, professor at the IT Giua high school of
Cagliari
Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
, created, along with his students, a digital version of the
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
n version of the game.
Variants
The rules for morra can be altered in several ways.
Odds and evens
In this two-player version one person is designated the "odds" player while the other is labeled "evens". Players hold one hand out in front of them and count together to three (sometimes chanting "Once, twice, thrice, shoot!" or "One, two, three, shoot!"). On "shoot", both players hold out either one or two fingers. If the sum of fingers shown by both players is an even number (i.e. two or four) then the "evens" player wins; otherwise the "odds" player is the winner. Since there are two possible ways to add up to three, both players have an equal chance of winning.
In New York City and Long Island in the 1950s, the game was called "chooses", and would be invoked to resolve a playground dispute by one antagonist saying, "let's shoot for it". In Boston at about the same time, the term in use was "bucking up". In US Coast Guard wardrooms (officer's mess), players "shake out". It has also been referred to as "odds-on poke".
More fingers
One variant of the game is to allow players to hold out any number of fingers, with the winner still based on whether the resulting sum is odd or even. For example, if there are two players and they each throw out five fingers, the resulting summation is even, so the "evens" player is the winner. Note, since only the
parity of the sum matters, there is no functional difference between using only 2 or 4 fingers, etc.
Micatio
Micatio is a variation of morra that attempts to lessen the element of chance by including the sight and speed of the player, a calculation of probabilities, and a certain psychological flair. In micatio the two players "each raise the fingers of the right hand, varying each time the number raised and the number kept down, and call aloud the total of the fingers raised by both", until one player wins the round by guessing correctly. Winning the round earns the player one point. If the numbers thrown do not match the numbers shouted, no point is scored.
Additionally:
# Hands must be in clear view to players and referees
# One challenger cannot play after they see what the other has shown
# The point is won by the player who guesses correctly the sum of all fingers displayed
# If both players guess correctly, the point is unassigned and the game continues
# The set is won by the player who is first to score 16 points in the first and the return game, and 21 in the deciding one
# If both players tie the score when they miss a point to win, they play a 5-point tie-break
# The match is awarded to the winner of two out of three sets
# Players cannot challenge referees' decisions
# It is an individual game, but you can also play with a mate against two others, as they do in the Championships
# In such a case, two challengers start the game and the one who wins the point has the lead until they lose it
Micatio is also played in competitions with four-person teams. Team members compete one at a time, facing their opponent. Each team member plays four times, and a match consists of eleven points.
Micatio is still popular today in southern Italy, and dates to
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
.
Ones-and-twos
Ones-and-twos is an elimination variant of the game, requiring more than two people. It is essentially a simplified version of
rock–paper–scissors
Rock, Paper, Scissors (also known by several other names and word orders) is an intransitive hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes ar ...
with only two choices. The loser is the "odd man out", or the minority choice in the case of large groups. For example: if there are ten players, and six happen to hold out two fingers while four hold out one finger, the four people holding one finger lose and are eliminated. The remaining six players move on to play another round. In this variant, the last round (between two players) is usually decided in the traditional manner.
This version can be played with any number of people, and is usually faster and easier than dealing with three variable combinations, as it eliminates the need for round robin tournaments.
A popular variant is often used to gamble for coffee. The aim is to be a part of the minority and be eliminated. Rounds continue till two people remain and they then play rock–paper–scissors. The loser of the "showdown" then purchases coffees for all players. Depending on the rule set coffees can be sometimes substituted for food or other beverages of a similar, agreed upon value.
League tables are often created and thorough statistical analysis applied in an attempt to enhance play. However the effect of such analysis on outcomes is disputed.
Modular arithmetic
The game can be expanded for a larger number of players by using
modular arithmetic
In mathematics, modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic operations for integers, other than the usual ones from elementary arithmetic, where numbers "wrap around" when reaching a certain value, called the modulus. The modern approach to mo ...
. For players, each player is assigned a number from zero to −1. On the count of three, each player holds out any number of fingers less than , including zero. The person whose number is the remainder of the sum is chosen.
In this variant it is common to arrange all players in a circle, assign someone to be player zero and assign numbers to other players counting upwards in a direction (usually clockwise). With this arrangement, once players throw out their numbers, they leave their hands in place and close their fingers one at a time as counting moves around the circle. When no fingers are left, the final player counted is selected.
Allowing zero
Some variants of morra allow players to hold out zero fingers. If the total number of fingers is also equal to zero, the game is usually counted as a draw and replayed.
Morra
. Frontier.net. Accessed May 3, 2012.
Shish-Nu
Shish-Nu is a variation of Morra where the rules are to hold out fists and stick out your thumbs only. The game works best with a large number of players. The game is played by every player holding out their fists with no thumbs raised. Then, all players say "Shish-Nu" and then the number of thumbs they guess will be up. The number correlates to the number of players in the game as well.
Chin Chin
Chin Chin is a variant most closely related to Shish-Nu, the main difference being that Chin Chin is more turn-based. Chin Chin is most popular in the US.
To play Chin Chin players hold out their fists with no thumbs raised. Turns go clockwise around the group and the player whose turn it is shouts "Chin Chin" and a number. Immediately players put up a random number of thumbs. If the player correctly shouts the number of thumbs up in the group he wins the round and places a hand behind his back. This repeats and the person who is first to lose both hands wins.
Fifteen-Twenty
Fifteen-Twenty is an old Chinese variant of morra with numerous variations of its own played in different parts of Asia. Two players face off in this game with both of their hands in front of them, face-to-face. Players take turns guessing the number of total fingers that are shown each round. Players can hold out either two fists (0), a fist and an open hand (5), or two open hands (10). As such, the total number of fingers that can be guessed is 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20.
When a player makes a guess (a round), both players can change the number of fingers currently being held up. If the previous player made a wrong guess, the opponent can immediately start the new round and make a new guess without delay (sometimes catching the other player off guard before they are able to change their fingers). If a player guesses correctly, he immediately gets to guess again. Guessing correct on the second try wins the game. If a player makes an impossible guess, (e.g. guessing 20 but only putting in a fist and a palm for 5 points) then that person gets a strike. Two strikes would result in a point for the other player.
See also
*Chopsticks (hand game)
Chopsticks (sometimes called Splits, Calculator, or just Sticks) is a hand game for two or more players, in which players extend a number of fingers from each hand and transfer those scores by taking turns tapping one hand against another. Chop ...
- a hand-game based on logic rather than chance.
*Matching pennies
Matching pennies is a non-cooperative game studied in game theory. It is played between two players, Even and Odd. Each player has a penny and must secretly turn the penny to heads or tails. The players then reveal their choices simultaneously ...
- a game of chance, using coins instead of fingers.
*Rock paper scissors
Rock, Paper, Scissors (also known by #Names, several other names and word orders) is an Intransitive game, intransitive hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstret ...
- a hand-game of chance, in which each player has three options.
*Spoof (game)
Spoof is a strategy game, typically played as a gambling game, often in bars and pubs where the loser buys the other participants a round of drinks. The exact origin of the game is unknown, but one scholarly paper addressed it, and more general ...
- a game of chance, in which each player has to guess the total number of coins held by all players.
*Horsengoggle Horsengoggle (also known as horse-and-goggle and horse 'n' goggle and hossengoggle) is a method of sortition, selecting a random person from a group. Unlike some other methods, such as rock paper scissors, one of the features of horsengoggle is tha ...
- a hand-game of chance, used to select a single person from a group.
* Liar's dice - similar game played using dice
Notes
References
* Carcopino, Jerome. ''Daily Life in Ancient Rome''.
* Suetonius, ''The Twelve Caesars''.
* Ifrah, Georges. ''The Universal History of Numbers''.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Finger-counting
Hand games
Parity (mathematics)