The game from the book
Mallotimo Seven
Grandfather Timo's backyard game: a little like croquet, a little like golf, and built around one rule that changes everything. Nobody owns a ball.
The name blends mallio, the Italian root of mallet, with Philotimo, the Greek word for love and honor: the Mallet of Honor.
How to play
The rules
Seven links, like the holes of a golf course. Each link has a starting stone, three hoops and a pole.
- Start each link at its stone.
- Hit a ball through all three hoops, in order (from either direction), then hit the pole to finish the link. That ball is then out of play.
- Nobody owns a ball. They're all identical, and after the first hit any player may hit any ball in play.
- Lowest total score after seven links wins.
- The worst total score goes first on the next link; the leader goes last. The youngest player starts the first link.
Rules written from the game in the book.
Why it matters
Philotimo you can play
When nobody owns a ball, you can't just look after your own. Every shot can help or hurt someone else, so the best players think a shot ahead and play for the whole field. In the book, Willa plays the ball that sets up the shot after next, and she wins every time.
Build your own: no croquet set needed. Two bricks, two sticks, a chair leg and a rock make your hoops, and any old balls and mallets will do.
Read the whole adventure free
The complete book is free in the Free Library: read it online, download the e-book or PDF, or listen to the audiobook. No email, no password, no cost.