No one can be serious the entire time, and like any people, the Themblise try to amuse themselves in a variety of ways. From games for children to serious sports for competitive adults, and mere relaxation for exhausted workers, the Themblise know how to let their worries melt away. These are just a few of the games and sports that Themblise play.
Games
Themblise children have access to a wide variety of carved wooden toys, as well as marbles, leather balls, jump ropes, and wooden hoops.
Scales
The history of Scales is highly debated on whether it was named after dragons, fish, or reptiles. Scales is outwardly a simple tile game with tiles in shapes that fit together to create the appearance of scales. On each side of the tile is a symbol worth a certain amount of points, or a negative value of points, or creates a positive or negative action. Played with up to four people, players take turns picking up a tile into their hand, and choosing to play one on their own scales, or on another player’s. Whoever has the most points when the tiles runs out wins.
Two Shell Abalone
Two Shell Abalone is a two person game played with two abalone shells (hence the name) and a variety of small stones or shells, depending on what one has on hand. The goal of Two Shell Abalone is to get as many shells or stones into one’s abalone shell as possible by traveling across a small board.
Feyrun
In Feyrun, one creature is a Fey and all the rest are villagers. The “Fey” attacks the villagers, attempting to tag them. Once someone is tagged, they are out. The “Fey’s” goal is to tag all of the villagers. The villagers have the chance to capture the “Fey” in the “Feylands” by touching each other (grabbing tails, hands, paws, wings) and creating a ring (the “Feylands”) around the “Fey.” If they succeed, then the “Fey” is captured and the villagers win. This game is much more successful for the villagers with a large group of creatures.
Sports
Fly By Me
A game for flying creatures, Fly By Me in a ring game where the player attempts to toss a ring onto a special pole from five to ten feet away while flying past it. The pole is like a weather vane, and each fly-by causes it to spin faster, making it harder to land a ring on each of its four point-scoring poles. Each of these colorful point-scoring poles are worth a set amount of points – one, two, three, and four. As the player flies by the pole, they toss their colored ring onto one of the pole’s point-scoring poles. If the ring lands on the main pole, it is worth zero points. Strategy comes in quick, as players fly by fast. Faster they fly by, more the pole will spin for the opponent behind them, but harder it will be for them to toss accurately at the poles.
Ringball
Ringball sports a large leather ball about one foot in diameter surrounded by six protruding leather straps. This game is generally played by large creatures like horses, unicorns, cows, goats, and sheep. The goal of the game is for teams of five to toss the ball through a hoop with its side placed vertically on a wall. The ball is not allowed to touch the ground, but creatures can grab the ball with their teeth, kick it, or bounce it off their body to pass it to teammates. Played by both children and adults, this game can get very physical very fast, as ramming into opponents is not penalized. Children typically aim to score fifteen points, but adults play for thirty or fifty to win.
Sailboat Racing
Sailboat racing is popular on the coast, although the size of the ships vary. Typically performed by two or more hot-headed sailboat crews on a random day, professional sailboat races with large money prizes often take place during holidays. The sheer amount of coastline Themble has makes this a popular sport to both compete in and watch. Isbit, the capital of Croon, has a three day sailing competition every summer that draws in spectators and sailors alike from all over.
Fishing Competitions
Whether it be for freshwater or saltwater fish, fishing competitions are incredibly popular in Themble. However, the rules have changed, after overfishing began straining the fisheries in the 500’s, a couple hundred years ago. Now, instead of seeing who can catch the most fish, the fishermen or crew attempt to catch a specific number of fish (usually five for freshwater, saltwater amount changes depending on what specie is being fished for) and attempt to have a heavier total weight than their opponent(s).
Racing and other Sports
Racing and other physical competitions are popular in Themble, but vary highly depending on what species are competing. A mouse cannot win a race against a dragon in the air, but a dragon cannot win a race against a mouse in a tiny tunnel. Typically, in organized competitions, there are strict rules to even the playing field, so that a human doesn’t have to compete with a unicorn during a jumping competition. However, boredom and pride sometimes causes species with different physical skills to compete against each other in random competitions. Hurdle’s Day, celebrated every leap year, is famous for its (often dangerous) jumping competitions.
Other Recreational Activities
Competitive sports and strategic games aren’t for everyone. Rather than a violent game of Ringball, many prefer the steaming competition of cooking. Cuisine is one of the foundations of Themblise social gatherings. Baking competitions, cooking competitions, recipe competitions are all very popular.
Social gatherings are the most common form of downtime there is for Themblise. A community-driven province, the Themblise will often join laid-back gatherings at various neighbors’ houses. Those cooking competitions are often just a way to add some flavor to a potluck, while games like Scales and Two Shell Abalone are pulled out for all to enjoy.
Music, and therefore often musical competitions, are another vital part of Themblise social gatherings. From songs to musical instruments, there are many ways for a community to come together and enjoy each other’s company. And not to mention, take part of probably one of the most common forms of news – gossiping.
Knitting, embroidery, and casual wood carving are other activities creatures will do to keep themselves busy during social gatherings if they are too antsy to just talk – or are attempting to avoid conversation.