GNAV

A GAME PLAYED WITH CARDS OR WOODDEN PIECES,
- RICH IN CULTURAL HISTORY:
The name GNAV is probably an imitation of the meowing of a cat (“gnao” in Italian) that is pictured on one of the playing pieces.
The game originated in Italy in the 1380s and was a card game for men who wanted to take a risk. People often lost house and home and the game was the object of censor and prohibition. But the game spread anyway, even all the way to Germany. There it had the name Vogelspiel (“Bird”) after the card with the picture of a cuckoo. For the same reason it was called Cucu in Italy.
The game came to Norway in the 1600s during the union with Denmark when Danish government officials brought it with them. At that time it was played with both cards and playing pieces. The game with playing pieces is probably from the time of Christian VI (1730 -1746) - the pietistic king. In the period of his reign he forbade card games, but the popularity of Gnav among common people let the game continue as a game with playing pieces. One could say that the king did the game a big favor. The version with playing pieces is preferable to the card version both in its entertainment value and durability.
The game was most popular among the social elite. The games with playing pieces were passed along from generation to generation and many families play Gnav currently with pieces that have been in use for 4, 5, and even 6 generations.
Gnav is often associated with Christmas and holiday celebrations. In many households it is a tradition to play Gnav at Christmas when family and friends gather.
Gnav has been played in many ways, so the rules may vary from area to area. Gnav is played now with 42 pieces having 21 different symbols - 2 of each.