Kwezage’win: Two-Sided Dice Game

This two-sided dice game is just one of many played by most tribes in North America. Besides the wooden bowl, dice were contained in baskets or pottery to be shaken. Kwezage’win used dice made from bone, but dice could also be made from other materials:

• peach pits
• flat stones
• acorns
• shells
• carved sticks

This particular game is in the archives of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, with pictures and research done by students of the Hannahville Indian School in Michigan.

Kwezage’win

The game was played only by women and mostly in the winter. Like other games, this one is also sponsored by a woman in honor of her guardian spirit, and similar ceremonial preliminaries are held. After the feast, a blanket is spread out on the floor, and the women sit in a circle, but divided into two teams with each side sitting in a semicircle facing the other.

As many women can play as want to, but there are only four prizes — yard goods of red, blue, green, and white. The gaming equipment consists of a wooden bowl and eight dice, six of which are thin, circular discs. One is carved in the form of a turtle and one represents a horse’s head. Dice were formerly made of buffalo rib, but horse’s ribs are used at present.

How to Play

One surface of each die is colored blue (red may also be used). Thus each die has a colored and a white side. The bowl is held with both hands, and the dice shaken to the far side of the bowl which is given one flip, set on the floor, and the score counted.

• all of similar color = eight points
• all of similar color except two = one point
• all of similar color except one = three points
• all of similar color except turtle = five points
• all of similar color except horse = 10 points
• all of similar color except turtle and horse = 10 points

Scoring

The score is tallied by the woman laying out the correct number of bean counters in front of her. Each woman shakes until she misses twice, and passes on the bowl in a clockwise rotation. The first to score 10 points wins the game, and a piece of the yard goods is given to one of the men spectators, who returns a gift of equal value in the future.

Have a suggestion for this story? We’d love for you to submit it!