Pith tiles

Pith tiles (Phyrean: thágr pith) are game tiles used in various Phyrean games, most prominently pith and little pith. They form part of the jip family of card sets common around the Orddonach, originating from ancient Doli playing tokens.

History

Pith tiles in their modern form can be traced back to the early 1500s. The game was already popular in much of Hearn and coastal Phyrea since the 200s BNB, being introduced by the Namunians through trade. Before the introduction of tiles, long cards usually made of wood were preferred, reminiscent of their Bahlian origins. The size and thickness of these cards varied significantly from region to region, as there was a trend to make smaller sets to save on materials and time, and to make them less unwieldy and easier to transport. The earliest pith tile set made to something close to modern standards originates from the 1520s. These were commissioned by a noble family from a now unknown artist. They are in the most popular format at the time in the area (near Brith, in coastal Amrhyl), thus 4,4x3,3x1,8 eff (roughly 2,4x1,8x1 cm), and were made of ceramic instead of wood. This format is now the most prolific worldwide.

Modern sets are commonly mass produced and made in plastic. More expensive, handmade sets are usually made of wood or ceramic.

Contents

Full set

		Numbers
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Suits	Hearts
	Bells
	Buttons
	Cups
Great Tiles		Seasons				High Kings
		Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Carn.	Daff.	Clover	Cornfl.
		Moon

A complete set of standard pith tiles includes 4 copies of each suit, 4 copies of each great tile and 4 moons, adding up to a total of 164 tiles.

Ranked tiles

Ranked tiles (Phyrean: thágr myddedol "numbered tiles") are tiles that are ranked (numbered) from one to eight.

Suit of Hearts

The heart suit (Phyrean: hedr "hearts") is represented by a series of heart shapes. They are sometimes referred to as a poppies (Phyrean: hollydr (sg. hollyd)).

Suit of Bells

The bell suit (Phyrean: merthtr "bells") is represented by a series of bell shapes.

Suit of Buttons

The button suit (Phyrean: spowntr "buttons") is represented by button shapes.

Suit of Cups

The cup suit (Phyrean: tawntr "cups") is represented by stylised cups.

Great tiles

The great tiles (Phyrean: thágr mód) are tiles that are not ranked nor suited in pith. In little pith, however, each great tile is connected to a specific suit, and follow numerical tiles in the order of numbers < seasons < high kings. This article describes the suit relationships for the sake of completeness.

Seasons

The seasons (Phyrean: llwnwy) represent the four seasons. They are the second most important of the great tiles, preceding the high kings. They feature birds and flora related to their respective seasons.

The four season tiles are:

• Summer (Phyrean: chrawd), represented by a bee-eater and a jasmine flower, pertaining to the suit of hearts.
• Autumn (Phyrean: pán), represented by a perched waxwing and a yellowed oak leaf, pertaining to the suit of bells.
• Spring (Phyrean: mawb), represented by a perched nightingale, an apple blossom next to it, pertaining to the suit of buttons.
• Winter (Phyrean: jan), represented by a goldfinch and a leafless twig, and pertaining to the suit of cups.

High Kings

The high kings (Phyrean: hiaharthwr holl) are represented by flowers. They are the highest of the great tiles, following the seasons and preceding the moon.

The four high king tiles are:

• Carnation (Phyrean: ewfford), of the suit of hearts.
• Daffodil (Phyrean: ceddford, of the suit of bells.
• Clover (Phyrean: mudwr (had) "clover (flower)"), of the suit of buttons.
• Cornflower (Phyrean: llysnwyd), of the suit of cups.

The Moon

The moon (Phyrean: mnalyd) is the only unsuited and unranked tile, represented by three nuns praying or performing a procession under the moon. Sometimes, this tile may only be represented by a blue dot. It is the highest tile in the set. There are four moon tiles in a complete set, matching the number of suits.

Games

Following is a list of games using the standard pith set:

• Pith
• Little pith
• WIP