Marco Polo Slot. Marco Polo is one of the biggest figures in history. He was a Venetian merchant traveller whose journeys can be found in the Livres des merveilles du monde. Translated into English, this is the Book of the Marvels of the World.
|Players||3 or more|
|Setup time||30 seconds|
|Playing time||30–40 minutes|
|Random chance||very low|
|Skills required||Swimming, sound localization|
Marco Polo (/ˈmɑːrkoʊˈpoʊloʊ/(listen)) is a form of tag played in a swimming pool.
One player is chosen as 'It'. The 'It' player, with closed eyes, tries to find and tag any one of the other players, relying on hearing to find someone to tag. The player who is 'It' shouts 'Marco' and the other players must all respond by shouting 'Polo', which the 'It' player uses to try to find them. If a player is tagged, then that player becomes 'It'. If 'It' suspects that a player has left the pool, they can shout 'Fish out of water!' and the player who is out of the pool becomes the new 'It'.
The game can also be played on land, with slightly modified rules. It is similar to blind man's bluff, where one person is blindfolded while others choose hiding places around the room. While playing one cannot hold another player in place to be tagged or that person is it.
The game shares its name with the 13th-century Italian trader and explorer Marco Polo.
There does not appear to be any real connection between the game and the explorer of the same name, although according to one whimsical explanation, 'legend has it that the famed explorer didn't really have a clue as to where he was going', this being reflected in the 'It' player's behavior. Although water polo is another popular pool game, the name of 'Marco Polo' is apparently unrelated.
The game has similar traits with blind man's bluff, an essentially identical game played on dry land which dates back to at least the 16th century. Marco Polo was known as a water game in America by the 1960s. Between 1965 and 1970, some respondents to a Dictionary of American Regional English survey, when asked to name a game played in the water, responded with 'Marco Polo.' By the mid-1970s, the game had spread and become very popular in swimming pools frequented by expatriates living in Hong Kong. It didn’t reach swimming pools in the United Kingdom until later, likely from British kids returning from Hong Kong for their studies.
The game has featured in two episodes of the The Simpsons: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (Season 2, Episode 15), originally airing in February 1991 and Little Big Mom (Season 11, Episode 10) originally airing in January 2000. Marco Polo has also featured in two episodes of Family Guy: E. Peterbus Unum (Season 2, Episode 18) airing in July 2000 and Peter's Got Woods (Season 4, Episode 11) originally airing in September 2005. The game will also be featured in the upcoming Elinor Wonders Why episode 'Echolocation'. (Season 1, Episode 30a). The game is also played in the Marco Polo episode of Sopranos (Season 5, Episode 8 originally airing in April 2004). The game also appeared in an episode of Moden Family (Season 6 Episode 4) airing in October 2004. The game has also influenced a poem called The Hangover by Billy Collins.
In modern times, Marco Polo is played worldwide. Various regions have their own versions of the game, with names such as Mermaid on the Rocks and Alligator. The term 'Marco Polo game' is sometimes used to describe an online game where a similar call-and-response system of gameplay is adopted.
Polo Casino Las Vegas
Marco Polo is an 'easily modifiable game', and is based on the notion of call-and-response. Marco Polo is a location-based game because players are confined to a set space and because players must locate each other using auditory clues. Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society argues 'there is bipolarity in the reversal of roles...there are repeated actions, a routine to be repeated, rules to be observed, and verbal signs to be used'. Playing this game can allow children to experiment with different social roles, for example learning what it means to be an outcast in the role of 'It' (isolated, confined to a space, and unable to see others). According to the Nevada Regional Medical Center, 'Marco Polo is not only fun, it can be a good workout. It also puts less stress on your bones and joints because the water makes your body float.'
Playing Marco Polo Game
- ^ abcdefgBittarello, Maria Beatrice (2009). 'Marco Polo'. In Carlisle, Rodney P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society. Volume 1. Los Angeles: SAGE. p. 376. ISBN978-1-4129-6670-2. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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- ^Jeffrey, Phillip; Mike Blackstock; Matthias Finke; Anthony Tang; Rodger Lea; Meghan Deutscher; Kento Miyaoku. 'Chasing the Fugitive on Campus: Designing a Location-based Game for Collaborative Play'. Proceedings of CGSA 2006 Symposium. Canadian Games Study Association.
- ^'10 Classic Swimming Pool Games'. How Stuff Works. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^'Marco Polo'. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ abc'What Is the Game Marco Polo?'. wiseGEEK. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^'Marco Polo - Retroland'. Retroland. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^'Polo / Marco Polo'. Word Detective. September 15, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- ^'Games Played in the Water'. Dictionary of American Regional English Survey.
- ^Nevada Regional Medical Center (26 January 2003). 'It Takes One to Tango: Some Tips to Keep Fit'. Sunday Nevada Herald. p. 8A. Retrieved 28 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.