You wouldn’t expect an island the size of Gozo to be host to an outdoor game played nowhere else in the world – but that’s exactly what brilli is.

With its roots dating back to the time of the Knights of St John, brilli can, in some ways, be compared to ten-pin bowling, although it’s played exclusively outside.

In place of ten pins and a bowling ball, brilli makes use of nine wooden skittles and a wooden ball. The rules for the Gozitan game, however, are a bit more complicated than you would expect…

“The skittles are arranged in a square-diamond shape in a three-by-three pattern. The aim is to knock down the skittles and score points,” loghobmalti.com explains. Pretty straightforward, right?

Playing the game might be simple enough, but it’s brilli's points system that can be a bit tricky to get used to.

“To win, a player must score exactly 24 points. If someone surpasses this number, they are eliminated until the next round. Different skittles have different names and values,” loghobmalti.com adds.

“The centre one is called is-sultan and is worth nine points. The corner skittles are known as is-secondi and count for six points. The remainder are called qarmuc and only give a single point,” the website continued.

When playing brilli, you get two shots with the wooden ball – first from a previously determined spot, and then from the spot at which the ball settles after the first throw.

The People of Malta, a local project dedicated to shining a spotlight on interesting Maltese individuals, spoke to Valerio – a brilli player from Gharb, Gozo.

“If we don’t find a place where we can teach the game of brilli to youths, a place which we have, in fact, identified, this game is going to die out just like many other games and traditions have over the years. This game is included in the cultural list of tangible heritage, and we have now requested that it is recognised by UNESCO,” Valerio said.

“This used to be a lane which has now become a street. This is where we always used to come and play brilli. In fact, we went through a lot of trouble to obtain permission for cars not to be parked here on Sunday morning. Brilli used to be played here in Gharb, in Kercem, Zebbug, Ghasri, and San Lawrenz. It used to be played in about four different locations here in Gharb,” Valerio added.

The brilli player went on to explain how the game is played exclusively in Gozo, having been introduced to the island by a group of Saracens who lived there at the time of the Knights of St John.

“I am Maltese, from Hamrun, and I came to live here a short while ago. I used to enjoy watching others gather here to play brilli. The sound of wood hitting the ground fascinates me,” Valerio added.

“I used to watch them, and little by little I too learnt how to play. I ended up trying to spread the message to create awareness about this game, both with the leaders of the island and in schools. I worry very much that this game can die out,” he concluded.

Have you ever played ‘brilli’?

The People of Malta / Facebook, Victor Fenech / Facebook