A D E L L A
The Maritime Board Game
An old stone set from the priory crypt
Story
Adella is a traditional game from Penzance, West Cornwall. Cornwall is renowned for it's treacherous coasts which were a once a hotbed for smugglers and pirates alike. The coast is strewn with thousands of shipwrecks, an apt environment for the game's origins. The present form of Adella is an adaptation of a once lost game played by pirates on the coast of Cornwall called Crimps. Legends recount how they would gamble their stolen treasures and forgo many heated battles both on their ships and in pubs.
Inspiration for three tides or winds has been said to represent the primordial fates, the three windy sisters from the old book of Trevadlow or simply personify the weather. Their supreme governance is evident by their role in the game, where they influence the destinies of all vessels.
Pictured above is a 3D representation of the old stone set. Crimps (now Adella) was played with players sat side by side in pubs. This was said to make for the fairest game view and allowed the pirates and smugglers to keep an eye for unwelcome visitors coming through the door.
Adella is a traditional game from Penzance, West Cornwall. Cornwall is renowned for it's treacherous coasts which were a once a hotbed for smugglers and pirates alike. The coast is strewn with thousands of shipwrecks, an apt environment for the game's origins. The present form of Adella is an adaptation of a once lost game played by pirates on the coast of Cornwall called Crimps. Legends recount how they would gamble their stolen treasures and forgo many heated battles both on their ships and in pubs.
Inspiration for three tides or winds has been said to represent the primordial fates, the three windy sisters from the old book of Trevadlow or simply personify the weather. Their supreme governance is evident by their role in the game, where they influence the destinies of all vessels.
Pictured above is a 3D representation of the old stone set. Crimps (now Adella) was played with players sat side by side in pubs. This was said to make for the fairest game view and allowed the pirates and smugglers to keep an eye for unwelcome visitors coming through the door.
The three windy sisters from the old book of Trevadlow
Saved in the local priory in the Cornish village of Trevadlow an old book squashes a singed poem appearing to directly reference Adella albeit in a cryptic riddle.
Original Cornish:
"Tri vammoryon an mor a gevvydh bennow dhe gelly,
Mes ma' par dell vamm leow anar an mor.
Kernew skathys moyntys, kavordh aga keas,
Drefenn pesva ha kodhly ufella an tebil.
Dre'n nosow y a spallas aga bennow yn an goyen,
Gans freth o gennys o yn aga kemmakow."
English translation:
Three daughters of the sea asked for dolls to keep,
But their mother's shop was the floor of the deep.
Ships were their playthings, a cavern their abode,
Where they frolicked and played in the tidal flows.
At twilight they locked their toys in the gloom,
With cold finned arms in their watery room.
Now a game so steeped in historic intrigue is brought back to life in the form of Adella. As such this Cornish tradition lives on for many centuries to come...
Saved in the local priory in the Cornish village of Trevadlow an old book squashes a singed poem appearing to directly reference Adella albeit in a cryptic riddle.
Original Cornish:
"Tri vammoryon an mor a gevvydh bennow dhe gelly,
Mes ma' par dell vamm leow anar an mor.
Kernew skathys moyntys, kavordh aga keas,
Drefenn pesva ha kodhly ufella an tebil.
Dre'n nosow y a spallas aga bennow yn an goyen,
Gans freth o gennys o yn aga kemmakow."
English translation:
Three daughters of the sea asked for dolls to keep,
But their mother's shop was the floor of the deep.
Ships were their playthings, a cavern their abode,
Where they frolicked and played in the tidal flows.
At twilight they locked their toys in the gloom,
With cold finned arms in their watery room.
Now a game so steeped in historic intrigue is brought back to life in the form of Adella. As such this Cornish tradition lives on for many centuries to come...
A galleon from the old book of Trevadlow
A game by Ben Reader.
Adella concept and artwork are property of the artist.
ADELLA ©