Pig Mania!

This week, Barack Obama referred to "lipstick on a pig," which was seized upon by the McCain camp as a veiled insult to Sarah Palin. Hogwash! Of course, over the summer, the Obama camp had no qualms about distorting McCain's words to suggest that he wants to keep American troops in Iraq for 100 years. This is why I try to avoid watching too much campaign stuff.

The bright side of the pig controversy is that it inspired Mrs. Kronicle and me to dig out our Pig Mania game. I know many of my readers have not yet achieved my cultural sophistication, so I thought I would take this post to acquaint you with Pig Mania.

The equipment includes the following:

The two pigs are placed into the "pigsty," shaken, and then tossed to the table. Points are scored based on the way the pigs land. Should you roll a "pig out" ...

 

or a "makin' bacon" ...

... your turn ends, and it goes to the next player. A "pig out" is when the two pigs are on their sides but not the same side. "Makin' bacon" is when the pigs are touching in any way. [Update: Codepoke reminds me that if you toss a "makin' bacon," you lose all your points for that round of tosses. I knew I'd miss something here.]

The objective is to score 100 points. Here is how the points are scored.

This is a" sider"; both pigs are lying on the same side. Points = 1

The one on the left is a "hoofer" (Points = 5), and the other is a "razorback" (Points = 5).

The one on the left is a "snouter" (Points = 10), and the other is a "leaning jowler" (Points = 15).

For these last four, the point total quadruples if the pigs land in the same position. For example, two snouters would be 40 points.

One additional rule is that before the pigs are tossed, another player can yell, "Sooee!" That player predicts the outcome. If they are correct, they get double the points, and the tosser must subtract the same number of points. If they are wrong, then you do the reverse.

Well, there you have it. Now you have grasped the inner workings of Pig Mania. No need to thank me for adding to your cultural proficiency.

Comments

[Neil]

It appears you have a little extra time on your hands! So who won?

[Michael W. Kruse]

Actually, we were sitting for two daughters of our friend and we broke it out for that occasion. Mrs. Kronicle is the master. I suppose it has something to do with growing up on a hog farm in Iowa.

[codepoke]

Don't forget - you can decide to keep your points and "pass the pigs" or keep on rolling, but if you get caught making bacon you lose all your points, even the ones you've kept. :-)

This is fun.

[phil_style]

I'm pretty sure that game was actually merketed in New Zelaland (and perhaps elsewhere too) as "pass the pigs".

[Michael W. Kruse]

Codepoke

Thanks for the additional rule. I knew I'd skip over something. I updated the post.

Phil

The copyright on the box is to David Moffat in 1977. Says it was produced and distributed by Recycled Paper Products, Inc. I've always wondered what the history was.

[VanSkaamper]

I love this game. I was introduced to it a couple years ago by some friends in Carbondale, IL.

The maker of this game--if they have any brains at all--ought to be in the process of rushing out a special Election 2008 Edition...bigger pigs, all of them with lipstick and marks on their ears.

[Michael W. Kruse]

LOL. I love the election edition idea. Wonder who now owns the trademark.

[eclexia]

Ah yes, I love this game, too. It's fun, because even my littlest ones can play it, and by the time they can write numbers and add them up, they enjoy trying to be the scorekeepers.

And I'd much rather play a pretty mindless game like Pass the Pigs (that's what the version I bought in college is called) than listen to politicians distort each other's words, cheered on by the media.

[Michael W. Kruse]

Amen! And following Van's lead, we could probably invent a new version about congress called "Pass the Pork."