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'''Riddle-game''' was an ancient game of the [[Hobbits]], used as a means of settling disputes.<ref group="note">[[Robert Foster]]'s ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]'' says that the game was used throughout Middle-earth, although the narrative is not clear on that matter.</ref> The players continued to ask each other riddles until one failed to provide a correct answer. | '''Riddle-game''' was an ancient game of the [[Hobbits]], used as a means of settling disputes.<ref group="note">[[Robert Foster]]'s ''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]'' says that the game was used throughout Middle-earth, although the narrative is not clear on that matter.</ref> The players continued to ask each other riddles until one failed to provide a correct answer. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
The origins of the game are not known, save that it was very ancient and its rules were respected as sacred.<ref group="note">Foster interprets this by saying that the rules "were held among the guardianship of the [[Valar]]"</ref> | [[File:Ted Nasmith - The Riddle Game colour sketch.jpg|thumb|''The Riddle Game'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]The origins of the game are not known, save that it was very ancient and its rules were respected as sacred.<ref group="note">Foster interprets this by saying that the rules "were held among the guardianship of the [[Valar]]"</ref> | ||
The most famous riddle-game was the one in which [[Bilbo Baggins]] and [[Gollum]] competed. If Gollum failed to answer a riddle, he would show Bilbo out of the [[Misty Mountains]]. However, if Bilbo lost, Gollum would eat him. The two exchanged several riddles, and Gollum's knowledge of the answers suggested to [[Gandalf]] years later that he had possibly been a hobbit once. At last, strapped for riddles to ask the loathsome creature, Bilbo, touching [[The One Ring|the ring]] he had found in the tunnels, asked "What have I got in my pocket?". Gollum failed to answer correctly, despite being given three guesses. Reneging on his promise, Gollum plotted to use his "Precious" to murder and eat Bilbo, but when he found it missing, he too late guessed the right answer to Bilbo's "riddle".<ref>{{H|Riddles}}</ref> | {{Blockquote|What has roots as nobody sees,<br/>Is taller than trees,<br/>Up, up it goes,<br/>And yet never grows?<ref group="note">"Mountain" is the answer.</ref>|[[Gollum]]<ref name="HRiddles"/>}} | ||
The most famous riddle-game was the one in which [[Bilbo Baggins]] and [[Gollum]] competed. If Gollum failed to answer a riddle, he would show Bilbo out of the [[Misty Mountains]]. However, if Bilbo lost, Gollum would eat him. The two exchanged several riddles, and Gollum's knowledge of the answers suggested to [[Gandalf]] years later that he had possibly been a hobbit once. At last, strapped for riddles to ask the loathsome creature, Bilbo, touching [[The One Ring|the ring]] he had found in the tunnels, asked "What have I got in my pocket?". Gollum failed to answer correctly, despite being given three guesses. Reneging on his promise, Gollum plotted to use his "Precious" to murder and eat Bilbo, but when he found it missing, he too late guessed the right answer to Bilbo's "riddle".<ref name="HRiddles">{{H|Riddles}}</ref> | |||
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[[Category:Activities]] | [[Category:Activities]] | ||
Revision as of 10:55, 26 June 2012
Riddle-game was an ancient game of the Hobbits, used as a means of settling disputes.[note 1] The players continued to ask each other riddles until one failed to provide a correct answer.
History
The origins of the game are not known, save that it was very ancient and its rules were respected as sacred.[note 2]
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?[note 3]
—Gollum[1]
The most famous riddle-game was the one in which Bilbo Baggins and Gollum competed. If Gollum failed to answer a riddle, he would show Bilbo out of the Misty Mountains. However, if Bilbo lost, Gollum would eat him. The two exchanged several riddles, and Gollum's knowledge of the answers suggested to Gandalf years later that he had possibly been a hobbit once. At last, strapped for riddles to ask the loathsome creature, Bilbo, touching the ring he had found in the tunnels, asked "What have I got in my pocket?". Gollum failed to answer correctly, despite being given three guesses. Reneging on his promise, Gollum plotted to use his "Precious" to murder and eat Bilbo, but when he found it missing, he too late guessed the right answer to Bilbo's "riddle".[1]
Notes
- ↑ Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth says that the game was used throughout Middle-earth, although the narrative is not clear on that matter.
- ↑ Foster interprets this by saying that the rules "were held among the guardianship of the Valar"
- ↑ "Mountain" is the answer.
