La Morra: An Ancient Finger Game Still Played in the Marche

La Morra is an ancient finger game, similar to rock-paper-scissors, that has been played for over 3,000 years throughout the Mediterranean.

Watch the game in action here:

It remains incredibly popular in Italy, particularly in our region of Le Marche. No wonder! Italy’s first written reference to the game dates back to 1324, from Esanatoglia in the province of Macerata.

Elke Discovers La Morra at the Truffle Festival in Sant’Angelo in Vado

Elke and Otto were at the truffle festival in Sant’Angelo in Vado, in northern of Le Marche, of which we talked about here. As they wandered through the stalls in the old town, they heard loud shouting in the distance, which seemed to be coming from outside a bar.

What was going on there? They’d never witnessed a bar fight in our idyllic region of Le Marche! As they got closer, they saw a crowd of men, some shouting at each other aggressively. Others, observing the scene intently, stood in a circle around them, along with one person taking notes on a clipboard.

A local resident explained that it was a tournament of the ancient game La Morra. Indeed, the players had one hand behind their backs and quickly showed one to five fingers with their other hand while loudly calling out numbers to each other.

The rules of the game:

The game is played by two players: they simultaneously extend one hand and show between one and five fingers. At the same time, each player calls out a number between 2 and 10. The player who guesses the total number of fingers shown by both opponents wins a point. However, if both players guess the sum correctly, that round doesn’t count. The game ends when a player reaches a certain number of points, often 16 or 21 in Italy.

The game is played at a very fast pace, so it was hard for them to keep up. But that’s the point—players are meant to play intuitively, with little time to think.

La Morra in Le Marche

In our region, La Morra is often played at festivals, where prizes—usually in the form of goods like a ham or sausage—are awarded to the top players. There is even a La Morra players’ association in Marche that strives to keep the tradition alive by organizing regional tournaments in which teams of two players compete against each other. By the way, in September 2024, a team from Sant’Angelo in Vado came in second place!

It’s not just a game of chance; experiments have shown that experienced players tend to be more successful than beginners. Observing your opponent and having a good memory are crucial. However, it was banned in bars in fascist Italy because it was considered a gambling game. This ban still stands today, which might explain why they play it outside the bar in Sant’Angelo in Vado instead of inside.

An Entertaining Game for Both Kids and Adults

Naturally, the game is also played by children. It’s easy to play and doesn’t require any equipment. But it’s also used for drawing lots, much like our rock-paper-scissors.

Give it a try!