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.