PatimPatamPatum

PatimPatamPatum is a special majorities game whose scenario is the popular and traditional festival of "La Patum" in the Catalan city of Berga, near the Pyrenees, recently declared "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by the UNESCO. The game does not intend to faithfully reproduce the festival, but just be a funny competition among the players grasping some of the feeling of the festival.

Each player represents a group of patumaires (i.e. those participating in the festival) and he or she should lead his or her patumaires through the old city streets, trying to reach the special squares where the festival is held. The final aim of the players is to gather the maximum number of patumaires in these squares at the end of each round. But there is a problem: the squares are pretty small and there is no room for everybody. If the squares are full you'll have to manage as best as you can in order to throw out some competitor, while trying to keep there your own patumaires. To help you in this task you should use wisely the various cards and popular characters of the festival: some ones will help you in reaching the squares, some others will help you in defending yourself from the other players' pushes.

The game has three rounds and each player can use his cards to move the patumaires as well as the character cards, which allows some special (and sort of magical) action. At the end of each round the players obtain points by their mere presence in the squares and, in some cases, even more points by having a majority there. You'll have to maintain always an equilibrium in your cards: will you spend your cards mainly for trying to reach all the places or better keep the highest card for defending against your competitor's pushes? Will you spend that 6-valued card for his movement value or for his character's special action?

• Released October 2007.

• Winner of the 6th Game Creation Contest Award at the Fira JocJoc in Tona, Catalonia, Spain (November 2007).