CHRISTMAS IN ABRUZZO

Tombola: history and traditions
In Italy tombola is a very common family game played at Christmas, and is similar to bingo, the English version so popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and, under many forms all around the world. In Italy at Christmas Eve playing tombola is a must, with all the relatives united around grandparents and small children shouting when they win a prize (adults usually don't call a prize if there are children around, to let them win). Modern tombola cards are in plastic and have on the numbers small plastic slots that can be closed down when the number is called, but traditionally they were closed by beans ("fagioli") or by pieces of orange peel, that you had to eat while playing.

What you need to play:

a tabellone with squares containing all numbers from 1 to 90;

numbered cards, each one containing blank squares and 15 squares containing random numbers, arranged in tree rows, each containing five numbers; this cards are bought by the players

90 wooden or plastic"tombolini" with numbers from 1 to 90, which are kept in a container (usually a cloth sack).

How to play:
Fix a price for each card (ex. 1 dollar). The players buy the cards, and one of the players buys the "cartellone . The money is divided into five prizes, from lowest to highest, with tombola being the jackpot:

• the "ambo", two numbers on the same row
• the "terno", three numbers on the same row
• the "quaterna", four numbers on the same row
• the "cinquina", five numbers on the same row
• the "tombola", all numbers on the card

Then the one who has the cartellone takes the numbers out of the sack, one at a time, calling them loudly, and placing them on their box in the cartellone, and leaving time to the players to mark the number on their card. For more color each number has also a nickname, either local or from the "Smorfia" napoletana - 77 is for ex. the "gambe delle vecchie (legs of old women)".

The Smorfia
For more color each number has also a nickname, either local or from the "Smorfia" napoletana (77 is for ex. the "gambe delle vecchie (legs of old women)") -