Anybody who has stepped foot in the Caribbean knows full well that it is alive with wonderful sights, sounds and colours. From crazy carnivals and parties to delicious food and drink, the culture is incredible and is largely unlike any other in the world.
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Games are a big part of travelling in general, in fact, and often give a fascinating insight into a place’s culture. A huge part of this culture is the games played by people in the pubs and parks of each island, often with a glass of rum and always with a smile on the face. Nearly 40 million people live in the Caribbean, and any cursory wander through the towns of the Caribbean will come across a dozen or so games of cards or dominoes, and those lucky enough to have the time to sit down and take in the competitive banter will thoroughly enjoy it.
The Caribbean is an increasingly accessible and affordable part of the world. Let’s take a look at some of the most widely played traditional games ahead of your trip to the Caribbean.
Kalooki
One game that is hugely popular among Jamaica’s 2.8m population and often played in Trinidad and Tobago is kalooki, a variation on rummy. Kalooki is played informally in bars and parks, often for money, a pastime that has been handed down for generations. Played with a huge number of playing cards – up to 208 with a greater number of players – it uses standardized Anglo-American decks of cards with the jokers taken out.
The game differs slightly from island to island, with the Jamaican version a little more complicated than that in Trinidad, and the rules also shift slightly for large-scale tournaments, where the name of the game is changed to “super kalooki” and is played on tables of four.
Worldwide, the Caribbean community’s influence has brought kalooki to other shores, and kalooki clubs are commonplace in among these communities the UK. Like many card games, it has made its way into online gaming and users can play via an Android app. It was a central theme in Howard Jacobsen’s highly-regarded 2006 novel Kalooki Nights. It is a game also widely played in Jewish communities, although again, the rules are much different to the more traditional Jamaican ones.
Caribbean Stud Poker
One of the newest and most popular versions of poker originated on the Caribbean island of Aruba and is widely played across the Caribbean today. Admittedly a little unimaginatively named, Caribbean Stud Poker is a variation of the more traditional five-card stud and was first played on the island sometime in the 1980s having been brought over on a Dutch cruise ship. Indeed, tournaments in the Caribbean are most commonly played at Excelsior Casino in Aruba today, and it was introduced overseas into American casinos in the early 1990s.
Worldwide, it is perhaps the most commonly played of the traditional Caribbean games. Its popularity overseas has taken the format into the increasingly mainstream online casino market and is now even played as a live game on some sites, alongside the likes of blackjack, roulette, and slots. This mainstream visibility has brought it to various overseas audiences in Europe and Asia and has led to a great number of subtle variations on the games’ rules when played overseas.
Oware
With origins steeped in Ashanti folklore, oware is a game widely played across the Caribbean. Again a game played in bars, parks and barber shops by experienced gamblers, it is a game with many variations steeped in the cultural fabric of many islands, most notably Antigua, where they call it warri, and have held more international tournaments than any other.
The game largely involves a board of 12 two-by-six pits and 42 seeds. An oware table was found carved into ancient Syrian stone in the centre of Aleppo, dating the game at thousands of years old, although the earliest recorded traces of the game itself go back about 400 years and many claim it to be the oldest surviving game in the world.
Nowadays it is still a game widely played across most Caribbean islands, and highly organised leagues and events exist, including regular cross-island tournaments. Furthermore, a number of online versions exist, both to play against multiplayer and CPU.
Dominoes
A popular joke among the islands describes a Caribbean man can leaving the house for a game of dominoes and returning in a week’s time to find his wife has left him. Hilarious it might not quite be, it does accurately convey the sense of passion dominoes is played within the region, both in informal meet-ups in parks and bars and in tournaments.
The origin of dominoes as we know it, with marks made on a double-ended tablet of stone or wood, are in ancient China, brought over to Europe in the 18th century by Italian missionaries and then exported to the Caribbean by the British.
A little removed from the traditional western version of the game, players continue until one has won six matches in a row, causing domino sessions to be very long – hence the joke. Dominoes is a game often played while drinking much in the same way that pool or darts is played in Europe and North America and is popular with elder generations. Indeed, the game has also made its way online and can be played in a multiplayer form on the likes of JamDom, a site popular both at home and abroad that brings passionate dominoes players together from all over the world.
Caribbean culture is rich and varied, and that is no different when it comes to their games and pastimes. While cricket will always be the first love of the region and football is a huge passion, too, the beating heart of Caribbean life can be found in the pubs, bars, and parks of each island in the games above. If you want to treat yourself to a touch of authenticity on your trip to the West Indies, seeking out these games is a must.