The Palio

by juggler

Description

The year is 1882. The event is the Palio, a spectacular horse race that has been held annually in Siena, Italy, for hundreds of years. In the Palio, ten of Siena's neighborhood organizations (called "contrade") sponsor horses in the race. In this game, you are the leader of Chiocciola ("Snail") contrada. As the leader of the contrada, it is your responsibility to make sure that your district wins the Palio.

For hundreds of years, another contrada, the Tartuca ("Turtle"), has been your district's archrival. Tartuca will stop at nothing to make sure that your district's horse loses the race. You must not let them succeed. In the world of the Palio, sportsmanship is a relative term. Bribery, sabotage, secret alliances, and intimidation of opponents are standard operating procedure. You are playing to win. Any necessary means may be employed.

Stats

(on a scale of 1 to 8)

Maturity Level: 3 - must be at least this tall to play
Game Difficulty: 3 - trek through the forest
Play Length: 4 - A well spent lunch break
Player Rating: 4 - slightly more fun than homework (based on 39 ratings)
Played 182 times and finished 61 times since 12/14/2004

Comments

Eh! I won! Balk, Balk!

-- weru234
3/26/2008 8:21:53 PM:

Hurray! Victory for the snail!!!!

-- Sir_Lancegalawain
1/7/2007 8:36:43 PM:

Wow, I never knew that this event existed.

-- PrinceOProvidence
1/7/2007 3:22:46 PM:

It wasn't that good, maybe I just wasn't paying much attention. I drifted off after the first five or so pages.

-- October
10/28/2006 12:39:13 AM:

I don't see why other people said this game was boring. I thought it was very well written and gave rational choice outcomes. I liked it just fine.

-- Sethaniel
10/10/2006 9:22:01 AM:

[24 More Comments]