pic of the day - chüngel

This evening, I hosted a games evening for the ladies in our church. As well as the better known games like Rummikub and Balderdash, I set out our Chüngel board. Apparently the word chüngel is Swiss German for 'rabbit' - any explanation I gave as to why would be pure guesswork on my part.

We first came across this game when attending a staff Christmas do at John's boss's home in Cape Town more than 17 years ago. We enjoyed it so much, we vowed to buy one at the very first opportunity. Opportunities proved scarce as stockists of traditional toys and games in the UK told us we had dreamed the game up. One guy had the nerve to tell us that, if he hadn't heard of the game, it didn't exist!

We eventually wound up ordering one from Switzerland, where they are handmade. I'm not going to tell you how much it cost, but it was a lot. We decided it was an heirloom in the making and, if you should come and stay over with us at some point, you will be press-ganged into a game. I defy you not to have rather loud fun. My best friend astonished everyone by shrieking and banging her mallet as she played (she's not usually so much like me).