BARNGA
Kyle D. Hornickel
Professional School Counseling Program
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Interning 2001-2002
Elementary Site: Waseca Central Intermediate School.
High School Site: New Richland (NRHEG) High School.
BARNGA is an activity that can be used for students at the middle school age level or older. It is a ÒsimpleÓ card game. Everything appears to be the same, but there are a few differences while interpreting the rules of the game. This causes for Òconfusion, uncertainty, misunderstanding and misjudgments while the game is being played.Ó Through this game, individuals may experience feelings, emotions, and actions similar to interactions with individuals with differences.
As shown in the BARNGA manual, there is a guide sheet that can be followed to facilitate the activity. The sheet is as follows.
-You will have about 5 minutes to study the rules and
practice playing ÒFive Tricks.Ó
-Then the rules will be taken away and no verbal
communication will be allowed.
(from then on, you may gesture or draw pictures (not
words)
-Then the Tournament will begin. You will have a few more minutes to
play at your home table (in silence).
-Scoring begins at the start of the Tournament.
Game
Winner: The player taking the
most tricks in the Game (one ÓhandÓ).
If a game is not complete when the Round ends,
the player winning the most tricks so far in that game wins that game.
Round Winner: The player winning the most games in
the Round. (ordinarily, several
games will be played during a Round.)
-Each Round lasts a few minutes.
-Players move like this at the end of each round.
The player who has won the most games during a Round moves up to the next highest numbered table. If there are more than four players at a table, the two players who have won the most games during a Round move up to the next highest numbered table.
The player who has won the fewest games during the Round
Moves down to the next lowest numbered table. If there are more than four players at a table, the two
players who have won the fewest games during a Round move down to the next
lowest numbered table.
The other players remain at the table.
Winning players at the highest table remain at the table,
as do losing players at the lowest table.
Ties are resolved in alphabetical order
Then the students are given the directions for the card game.
In the manual, there are a number of different rules of how to play the card game. The following is one example from BARNGA.
Cards
Only 28 cards are used-Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in each
suit.
Usually 4-6; sometimes varies
The dealer shuffles the cards and deals them one at a
time. Each player receives 4-7
cards (or some other amount, depending on the number of players).
The player to the left of the dealer starts by leading
(playing) any card.
Other players take turns playing a card. The cared played (one from each player)
constitute a trick. For the last
trick, there may not be enough cards for everyone to play.
When each player has played a card, the highest card wins
the trick. The one who played this
card gathers up the trick and puts it face down in the pile.
The winner of the trick leads the next round, which is
played as before. The procedure is
repeated until all cards have been played.
The first player for each round may play any suit. All other players must follow
suit. (This means that you have to
play a card of the same suit as the first card). If you do not have a card of the first suit, play a card of
any other suit. The trick is won
by the highest card of the original suit.
In this game, spades are trumps. If you do not have a card of the first
suit, you may play a spade. This
is called trumping. You win the
trick even if the spade you played is a low card. However, some other player may also play a trump (because
s/he does not have a card of the first suit). In this case, the highest trump wins the trick.
Game ends when all cards have been played. The player who has won the most tricks
wins the game
When the leader thinks that enough time has passed for individuals to get a true experience of the game, the game can stop. There must be time to process the activity. The facilitator can ask a number of questions, but it is best to let the groups talk amongst themselves for a while. They will already be frustrated because each group will have interpreted the directions differently. Once things quiet down, the leader should help the group out by asking questions that will help the process the experience. Some questions for example could include; What were some of the challenges of the game? What worked for you, and what didnÕt? What made it so difficult? Can you relate this game to real life situations? Which ones? What are usually the underlying problems or difficulties of the problem? (What are the underlying problems of difficulties of this game???É.lack of communication and differences in rule interpretation) What does this activity suggest about the real world with so many people and so many rules?
This activity fits into the Social Studies Standard. Although they may not actually interact with other cultures (or people of a different Ethnicity), the game acts as a model for rule/role differences. Through the activity, students will be able see how they would act when they are in unfamiliar territory. They think they know what is going on in this Òmake believeÓ activity, but soon find out that group differences (similar to cultural norms) influence them greatly. When they process the activity, they see that they can leave the rules behind, yet everyoneÕs interpretations of the rules were different. The interpretation is what has caused all the chaos. When they realize that the game might be otherÕs reality, they are forced to see how other individuals (possibly of other cultures or beliefs) may interact with their environments because group rules have been form. When individuals move from one group to another group, they see that rules are different and they can either argue the rules, or go along with the rules. This is parallel to society and how cultural differences play roles in group/individual interactions. (We think the rules/norms are the same, but they usually arenÕt) This fits under the Human Geography section. It can also fit in the Institutions and Traditions in Society section because the activity allows individuals to interaction among individuals, groups, and institutions. When discussing the simulated activity, the facilitator can help people look the bigger picture and tie in these interactions on a societal level. This activity helps individuals in the personal/social, career, and academic domains because it helps them understand role differences, and how they play into all parts of life. Specifically it helps individuals in the personal social domain as it forces them to look at differences of culture, and how roles, rules, values, and beliefs, influence communication.
Game Design- Sivasailam Thiagarajan and Fred Goodman
Manual- Barbara Steinwachs
Thiagarajan. (1994). BARNGA: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes. A Sietar International Publication