An ancient German village olympics called Boßeln

In the winter time, in Northern Germany a street game called Boßeln is being exercised. It has been invented a long time ago. In the country side. It is being played in the middle-of-nowhere - at least for most of the time.

What you need to play the game are to different colored wooden or synthetic balls.

That is not all. You need definitely a load of Schnapps.

I mean, a serious amount. 
For the Schnapps you need a proper transportation, a certain kind of wagon called the Bollerwagen.

A Bollerwagen can transport kids if necessary too.

A very typical landscape for Boßeln.
A middle of nowhere of Northern Germany.

And you need two teams. The teams should be between five and maximum nine people to play the game in the most fun way. And a middle of nowhere would be a good thing to have as well.

Furthermore, you need warm clothes.

Northern German winter is not a piece of cake. It is mostly moist and windy. We are talking here a fisherman's-friend-kind-of-weather.

 You have to play it in winter so that your path is frozen and the ball can roll and does not sink in the ground.

As you see, it is all about throwing the ball. How to do this?

First of all, you should provide yourself with an overview of the path you are supposed to throw along. There will be uneven spots, in case you are playing on a field path your ball might easily be catapulted out.

You can ask your team to "read" the road for you, if they are clever enough they will show you the danger zones and awry places on the road.

Focus...

And throw!

Here a side perspective on the throwing techniques.

Then a player of the opposite team throws their ball!

 

Hopefully your ball has not left the path and went a very long distance.

 The next throw will be performed by the next player in a row from each team from the place the ball of their team had stopped. So you need to guard the spot your ball had reached.

In case your team has not managed to make a longer shot than the other team in two rounds, your team needs to drink a shot. And the player from the other team who was so good in throwing, he or she needs to drink a shot too. The team who wins these two rounds gets one point, the points are called Schoet. You count your Schoets and the team which makes more, wins in the end of the track.

You will also have to drink in case your ball which you have just thrown left the path. There should be a measure established on the beginning of the game how much it means "out of the path" - for example two feet. Make sure you agree on the feet of one person on the beginning of the game, as you are still sober. Otherwise there will be confusion.

Because, surprise, surprise! There will be more opportunity to drink. When your team wins the entire distance, every one will get a shot of Schnapps. By the way, when you reached the end, you just turn around and play all the way back again.

Folks from the loser team will - of course - get each and every body a shot of Schnaps too. Also, it might happen that you make extra rules, like for example - both teams have to drink a shot at every crossing or each time a jogger or a car passes by.

So, make sure you are really well equipped with the Schnapps. And take with you shot glasses. 

There are some good tricks, especially known among mothers, how to carry the glasses around.

In case you have got the impression that the game is all about drinking, this is false.














 It is also about celebrating the sport challenge and victories.
































And it is about friendship...

 goofing around and...

 

...getting cold and hungry.

Because in the end of the road, there is a portion of Grünkohl waiting for every body.

Grünkohl is a German winter dish, it is a stew of curly Kale with bacon and piquant sausage. This traditional meal is also a reason to celebrate the Bosseln in winter: the green cabbage needs to get through the first frost to have produced a certain taste before you harvest it and prepare as a dish.

And after the meal, there is some delicious German beer at the After-Bosseln-Party awaiting you. It is the moment when beer drinking becomes an act of culture. Prost every one!

This Blog post is dedicated to our dear friend Ralf who infected our wonderful group of friends with the Northern German tradition of Bosseln 15 years ago.