## Spinneret: The Spacer’s Game
### By Teirasei

Hey, folks! Now, as my regular followers may know, usually this blog focuses on my escapades as a cargo hauler in the wild wasteland that is the Frontier, that post-war haven for scrappers and soldiers alike. Recently, however, I received a bit of fan mail (well, a random direct message, anyway…) after my last post described a game my crewmates and I had played to pass the time. It had never occurred to me that you coreworlders would never have played *spinneret*! So, I figured that I could take today’s post to explain the rules and background of the game, so you folks can try playing it at home.

Now, as far as I know, *spinneret* has its origins on cargo vessels like mine. During lengthy cargo hauls, crewmembers often get very, VERY bored. The cramped corridors and relatively few stops also means that cabin fever sets in very quickly. Given the, well, athletic proclivities of our crate-movers, sports became one of the most lamented losses in terms of stuff to do. Most ball games require a lot more open space, and most other sports are either too expensive (needing to buy equipment rather than rent, given the length of a given trip) or necessitate too much stuff to conveniently bring on the ship with the rest of your luggage. The legend goes that, one day, a particularly muscular cargo technician was beginning to go a bit stir-crazy. He decided to take out his frustrations by tearing the poorly-mounted top off an empty aluminum tank canister and chucking it at a wall. The canister lid bounced wildly off the surface, pinging from wall to wall in the confined corridor until another technician happened to wander in and caught it by reflex. Both of them marveled at the sheer rebounding nature of the lid. Then and there, they realized the potential in the game.

Of course, this story’s probably apocryphal – disc sports have been around for a pretty long time across several cultures, and it’s not a huge stretch to think that a person from one of those cultures to say “Huh, that lid looks kinda like a throwing discus,” and then chuck the thing at a wall. Regardless, the game *spinneret* was born. Depending on who you ask, the name may come either from the fact that the disc, well, spins through the air, or that the original inventor of the game was a Rachnid and used their webs to create a makeshift arena within their vessel.

Just about the only gear you need to play *spinneret* is a disc, some targets, satchels or other bags for each player and a confined space. The disc can be either a lightweight metal like aluminum or plastic. While some Frontier recreational supplies firms have manufactured their own *spinneret* discs, it’s still most commonly played using whatever you can find. The targets (which must be an odd number) should be about the same size or slightly larger than the disc itself – it’s not uncommon for *spinneret* kits to simply be a stack of identical discs that can be used interchangeably as targets or as throwing implements. The bags need to be large enough to accommodate the targets. The confined space is also a highly important part of the game – the disc needs to be able to easily bounce around the space. Maintenance corridors or ships themselves are perfect arenas for spinneret. Don’t worry about asymmetrical layouts or anything like that – the scoring system ensures that it won’t matter much. If there are doors between certain parts of your arena, feel free to either hack them open or keep them shut depending on your preference.

[OOC Note: Discs should be small-sized. Ideally, a disc can be used in-hand to convert it into a placable target. Discs being printable would also be ideal, or even crafted from tanks or other suitable materials.]

In order to set up, first place your targets. Spread them out evenly around your play space, in a position wherein it can be either hit directly or hit by a rebound. Don’t worry if they’re spread across multiple different rooms – that’s actually ideal! Then, choose how you want to play. *Spinneret* can be played both as a team game and as a free-for-all type situation. Then, find the place in your arena that’s as close to ‘central’ as possible. Place the disc in the middle of this point, then spread your players evenly around the disc. Count down from five. When you reach zero, the game has begun!

Players scramble for the disc. Once you have the disc in your possession, you may move three meters in any direction surrounding the point where you picked up the disc. From there, in order to move, you must throw the disc. If the disc fails to hit a wall before it hits the ground, then it is ‘void’ and you may not pick up the disc again until another player throws the disc. From the ground, any player may pick it up and proceed with play as I said before. If it bounced off at least one wall before hitting the ground, you may retrieve it the same as anyone else. Players may also intercept discs mid-air, and treat it as though they had just retrieved it from the ground. If you are playing as a team, you may also pass to other players, but you must follow the same rules as standard throws – if it fails to rebound off a wall, then your team must wait until the other team has thrown it to obtain possession again. If the disc bounces off another player before hitting a wall, it does not count as void.

The objective of the game is for a player or team to obtain the highest number of hit targets. Targets may be hit either directly or with a rebound. A direct hit on a target is worth one point, while a rebound hit on a target is worth two. After hitting a target, a player must retrieve the target and place it into their personal bag. Once all the targets have been hit, the game is over, and the number of targets is counted across each player or team.

Penalties occur should a player attack or grapple another player, though standard jostling is allowed. Play stops if a penalty is called. A penalty consists of either a warning for first offenses, or temporary ejection from the game in extreme or repeat cases.

*Spinneret* is not usually a contact sport, but some folks enjoy roughhousing. If you wanna play contact spinneret, then simply eliminate physical contact penalties and make discs that players drop from being tackled valid for play.

That's everything, I reckon! *Spinneret* is one of my favorite pastimes aboard my vessel, and I really hope you guys can come to enjoy it as much as I do. See ya around! Stick around for next week's blog – apparently, I have a shipment of live specimens for some research lab to deliver. Will post pictures if they're cute!