Mora
MORA, or MORRA (Ital. delay), a game, universally popular in Italy, in which one player endeavours to guess instantly the number of fingers held up by the other. Ancient Egyptian sculptors represent a game of this kind, and it was played by the Romans, who called it micare digitis, or finger-flashing. It is known to the Chinese and to certain tribes of the Pacific Islands. There are several methods of playing mora, but in the one most- common in Italy the two players, placed face to face, throw out at the same instant one or more fingers of one hand, each crying out simultaneously a number guessed to be that of his adversary's exposed fingers. A correct guess counts one; if both guess correctly or wrongly there is no score. The game, which is generally five or nine points, is played for stakes, and with extraordinary swiftness.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
