Brilli

About Brilli

Talk about culturally unique, Brilli is an unusual type of skittles game adults played only in the small village of Gharb in Gozo.   Brilli dates back to before the reign of the Knights of St. John. The game resembles indoor ten pin bowling, but is played outdoors, with only 9 wooden skittles and using a wooden ball. The rules are a bit complicated.

How to play Brilli

The skittles are arranged in a square-diamond shape in a 3×3 pattern. The aim is to knock down the skittles and score points. To win a player must score exactly 24 points. If someone surpasses this number, he is eliminated until the next round. Different skittles have different names and values. The centre one is called ‘is-sultan’ and worth 9 points. The corner skittles are known as is-secondi and count for 6 points. The remainder are called qarmuc and only give 1 point.

Each player gets two goes with the ball. The first one is from an agreed point and the second one from where the ball settles after the first throw.  To add interest, the first throw scores differently than the next throw and the first throw counts double. However, if more than one type of pin is knocked down on the first throw (is-sultan, is-secondi and qarmuc), the player only gains 2 points for each pin.

The simplicity of the game along with the interesting scoring structure and strategic game play, give it an addictive quality. Why not join in the fun and at the same time help to preserve this unique tradition?  It will be tremendous fun!