Playing Pig in Appalachia - a card game keeping a community alive

March 1, 2018 10:53 AM

BBC News: "Every morning at 05:30 local time, 68-year-old Colin Huddleston opens the store, starts a fire in the stove in cold weather, makes coffee, and waits to play Pig. It's not even his store." The rule sheet on Forbus General Store Facebook. The fudge made in-store (2010), and a further video on the store (2011). Local features on the championship in 2014 and 2016. Other places to see in Fentress County. On Flickr: country hams, card table, sunshine, in play. The Forbus Wikipedia page.
posted by Wordshore (6 comments total)

I wonder if the name 'Pig' was somehow derived from 'Pitch' over the years; the rules look more or less like Auction Pitch but with a different scoring system.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 11:24 AM on March 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

They missed the most interesting attraction in Pall Mall, though: Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park. Alvin York was a hero of WWI; he stormed a German machine gun, captured 132 enemy soldiers and received the Medal of Honor and the Croix de Guerre. Upon his return to Tennessee, he campaigned for improved access to education for rural children (he and his ten siblings had little education) and becoming a supervisor in the Civilian Conservation Corps.
posted by workerant at 11:43 AM on March 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

Alvin York was a hero of WWI;

He was portrayed by Gary Cooper in Sgt York, a classic Howard Hawks film.

The Upper Cumberland area of Fentress, Pickett, and Morgan counties is rugged, beautiful country filled with great hiking, hunting, etc.
posted by bwvol at 12:36 PM on March 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

My Appalachian roots are further north, but I totally played PIG as a kid!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:57 PM on March 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

I loved this story! I firmly believe in the power of games to bring a community together.

I moved around a lot but finally settled down in CT about 15 years ago. When you move somewhere new by yourself, it can be hard to find friends, particularly outside of urban centers, but I worked at it and over the years built up some close friendships. But I craved having a circle of friends (not just individual ones), and I craved having people to play games with. So about 10 years ago or so I sent an email out to everyone I knew asking if anyone would be interested in playing board games together. About 6 people were into it, and we started playing at our house every few months or so - price of admission was a bottle of wine. Over the years some people have come and gone and others joined, so we usually have somewhere between 6 and 10 people on a given night. There's a core of 6 of us and we are now all really close - we recently took a trip to New Orleans together, we've started a book club, we've gone to concerts and comedy shows and birthday parties and barbecues together - and not only do I have friends to play games with, but I now have a real circle of friends - which was honestly one of my life's ambitions. So I'm a big believer in games bringing people together.

We're actually all going to see the movie Game Night together tomorrow night. Can't wait!
posted by widdershins at 7:20 AM on March 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

I searched, but I can't find a better link to the Corbus General Store rules for the game of Pig than the unreadable fuzzy pic on the Corbus FB page. There's Pig rules on the Bicycle Cards site, but it's presumably a different game for children.
posted by Daddy-O at 7:37 AM on March 2, 2018