The Rules
Il Giuoco dell'Oca
The historic Giuoco dell'Oca of Cagli is a Renaissance version of the classic board game, in which the four districts compete on a board of 54 painted tiles, each depicting a character, art, or craft of the time. The game takes place outdoors in the Arena di Sant'Emidio, with player pages in costume rolling the dice in front of hundreds of spectators.
The Board
— Le 54 caselle del nobilissimo et dilettevole Giuoco —
Objective
The goal of the game is to be the first to reach tile number 54, the one depicting the patron saint of Cagli with the White Goose. Victory is obtained only with an exact dice result: if the score obtained is higher than tile 54, the district moves back as many positions as the excess. The four districts start from tile 0 and advance based on the dice rolls made by their respective throwers.
Squares 1–47
Tiles from 1 to 47 represent skill challenges that penalize the challenging district only once and only during the advancement phase. The challenges are paired by drawing colored flags: the drawn district challenges one of the three opponents. In case of defeat, the challenging district returns to its starting tile -but does not incur penalties on the Spervengolo and Morte tiles. The tile with the Goose automatically doubles the score obtained from the die.
Zona Palio 48–53
From tiles 48 to 53 the rules change radically: whoever loses a challenge is forced to move back to tile 47, making this area of the board the most fought over and spectacular. Tiles 48-53 become free only when the district occupying them manages to win its own challenge. Conversely, in backward movements, no challenges are faced. In the event of a tie, the challenged district always wins.
Equipment
All the equipment necessary for the challenges is provided by the Associazione Giochi Storici of Cagli. In the event of a tool breaking by a player, the latter is required to replace it, and the challenge in progress is repeated. Each district is responsible for complying with the rules and the behavior of its pages; the referee's decisions are final and unappealable during the dispute.
Special Penalties
The district that stumbles upon the Spervengolo is forced to skip a turn remaining stationary on its tile. The same penalty can be imposed by the referee in the event of incorrect or disrespectful behavior by the district representatives.
On the Morte (Death) tile, the score obtained with the die is halved for the next three rolls. In the case of an odd value, the score is rounded down. This penalty does not stack with other ongoing special penalties.
Each district has a single bonus, usable only once during the entire dispute and only before tile 40 (excluding the Morte and Spervengolo tiles). By activating the bonus, the score obtained with the die is doubled in case of victory in the challenge. It is one of the moments of greatest strategic tension in the race: choosing when and against whom to use the bonus can determine the outcome of the entire dispute.
Summary
- 54 tiles with Renaissance challenges
- Tiles 1-47: defeat → back to start
- Tiles 48-53: defeat → back to 47
- Goose Tile: doubles the die
- Bonus: doubles the die (1 time, before 40)
- Spervengolo: skips a turn
- Morte: die halved for 3 rolls
- In a tie, the challenged district wins
Exact result
to win square 54
Discover also
Palio dell'Oca