Popular children’s game Pexeso marks 50 years
A Pexeso,
the Czech answer to Memory, is turning 50. The game, ever popular with
children and their parents, traditionally consists of 32 identical pairs of drawings to be matched up.
B Pexeso
appeared in 1965 as the brainchild of Zdeněk Princ. The name came from a
TV game show at the time called Pekelně se soustřed, meaning to focus
very intensively. Like its German predecessor, Memory, Pexeso
requires players to turn over matching pairs from memory. This is one
game where kids usually have an advantage over adults. One child, taking
part in a Pexeso competition, told Czech TV the kind he liked the best:
“The best ones are the cartoons or fairy tale ones. The most difficult
are the ones featuring national flags.”
C In Czechoslovakia, Pexeso caught on largely because of children’s animated TV series such as Večerníček, depicting popular
cartoon characters, from Krtek (Little Mole) to Maxipes Fík (a friendly
talking dog). It is a mainstay sold at Czech castles, hotels, theme
parks, and toy stores. Every year, a good number of firms even have
Pexeso games printed as cheap marketing tools, depicting even items as
banal as door handles, Czech TV noted. Annually, some 500 new sets are
published, many no longer identical matches but thematic ones: a pair of
soccer-themed Pexeso cards might feature a picture of Argentine
footballer Lionel Messi on one, and a close-up of his famous left boot kicking the ball on the other. You have to match them up.
D Not surprisingly, with so many editions published over the years, the game has its collectors. The second-largest collection in the Czech Republic is said to belong to belong to Tomáš Hanzal. He owns more than 3,600 different editions: “That’s
my treasure, have a look. There are 34 of these small boxes in all.
This is first edition from TV, this is the first one to feature
photographs, in B&W.”
E Other rarities include Pexeso sets only one centimeter by centimeter in size, or unusual subjects, many fiendishly difficult to tell apart.
One set from neighbouring Slovakia (where Pexeso also remains popular)
features the famous ice caves in Slovenský raj national park. Telling
some of the icy chambers apart is enough to give anyone over the age of
10 a migraine in no time flat, requiring a pack of ice on your forehead. Best avoided, unless you are a seasoned Pexeso fan.
Adjusted to (1)
depict – zobrazit
close-up – záběr z blízka
fiendishly – ďábelský, zapeklitý
tell apart – rozlišit
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 The origin of Pexeso
2 Pexeso – a memory game
3 Collections of Pexeso
4 Difficulties of Pexeso
5 Pexeso pictures
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What is Pexeso?
2 What are the rules?
3 What are popular pictures onPexeso?
4 What is newly depicted on Pexeso pictures?
5 Why is Pexeso sometimes very difficult?
3) Explain the following words and phrases.
1 identical pairs of drawings
2 predecessor
3 collector
4 rarity
5 a pack of ice on your forehead
4) Answer the following questions.
Why
do we play Pexeso with children? What are other popular games? Can you
describe their rules? Why is playing of these games important? How can
parents educate their child playing card and board games?
Video:
Tips, sources of information:
Source:
(1)
VELINGER, Jan. Popular children’s game Pexeso marks 50 years. Český rozhlas [online].
2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at:
http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/popular-childrens-game-pexeso-marks-50-years
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