Tombola, Sinco, Sette e Mezzo - a Christmas filled with board games

The Christmas holiday season is fast approaching, and this year, once again, it promises to be a time filled with smiles, good food and joy to be spent with family or loved ones. Among the traditions to be observed, there are the numerous board games that will fill the homes of all Italians, adding an extra touch of fun.

Are you ready to discover them with us?

The tradition of Christmas board games

The tradition of board games during the Christmas holidays has its roots in family and community life, when long winter evenings and breaks from work encouraged moments of conviviality. As early as the 19th century, in many Italian families, the Christmas period became a special opportunity to rediscover simple but engaging games, capable of entertaining entire generations sitting around the same table. Often originating as popular pastimes, these games spread thanks to their accessibility and ability to create bonds. In an era without television and technology, they were one of the main forms of domestic entertainment, taking on a strong symbolic value linked to Christmas over time.

Tombola - the emblem of Christmas

A traditional board game, created in Naples in the 18th century as a home alternative to the lottery, considered immoral from a religious point of view, tombola is one of the classic games of the festive season. After a minimum payment, it consists of drawing random numbers, from 1 to 90, corresponding in part to those on the cards chosen by the players. The aim is to fill the cards as quickly as possible with whatever you have (traditionally chickpeas, beans or pasta), forming pairs, triplets, quartets, quintets and finally bingo, thus winning the game.

                                                                                    Neapolitan tombola, a Christmas classic for the whole family

The numbers drawn often have symbolic and humorous meanings, belonging to La smorfia napoletana (the Neapolitan smorfia), whereby, for example, 1 is Italy, 44 is prison, 90 is fear, and so on.

Another traditional Neapolitan game is Sinco, created in 1983 by Emilio Salvatore and immediately popular with Neapolitan families. It consists of 10 cards on which players must cover winning combinations such as Centro, Angolo, Poker, Rombo and Sinco, following the lines.

Sette e Mezzo - a typical Christmas game

Reminiscent of a family casino, the game consists of one of the participants dealing the cards while the others try to get as close as possible to a score of seven and a half without exceeding it. The cards worth half a point make the game unpredictable and full of suspense, but the stakes are almost always symbolic: peanuts, beans or simple score markers, because what matters is having fun and not winning.

Scopa and Briscola - other card games

Alongside Sette e Mezzo, there are other popular games that often start spontaneously, such as Scopa and Briscola. Scopa, with its simple rules, is perfect for involving even the youngest players: the aim is to capture the cards on the table, trying to score points and, when possible, to “make a sweep”, a gesture that is invariably celebrated with enthusiasm. Briscola, on the other hand, introduces a little more strategy: here, the memory of the cards already played and the ability to choose the right moment to play the briscola come into play, creating a dynamic that keeps the attention high without ever becoming too competitive.

                                                                                                         Scanning Neapolitan Scopa cards

Other very popular games

In many families, especially during long evenings, the game of Mercante in Fiera (Merchant at the Fair) also appears, a game that thrives on anticipation and curiosity. The cards are dealt face down and the players, without knowing what they have in their hands, begin to exchange, buy or sell them, trusting their intuition or pure instinct. When the winning cards are finally revealed, the moment is often accompanied by exclamations, disappointment and collective laughter, making the game one of the most theatrical and engaging of the festivities.

Finally, there is no shortage of word games, charades and riddles, which often arise spontaneously without the need for materials. Miming a film, guessing a Christmas song or describing a famous person becomes a way to involve even those who do not like board games, creating a light-hearted atmosphere.

In all these activities, what really matters is not the perfect rule or the final victory, but the time spent together. During Christmas, traditional board games become a way to slow down, tell stories, laugh at mistakes and create shared memories. It is precisely this conversational and convivial aspect that makes them, even today, one of the most authentic and beloved traditions of the festive season.

In the Christmas spirit, discover the Luci d'Artista (Artist Lights) in Salerno!