Mar Elsi

Mar Elsi(Moshurian: mar elşi, [maɽ ˈɛl.ʃi]; Ariéni: hmâ ilzî, [ˈmɐ ilʤij]) is a card game of Arién origin, derived from the Moshurian card game Rensi, one of the First Five card games that developed from the introduction of 52-card decks by the American Expeditionary Force.

First popularised outside of Arién communities by Moshurian casinos, today it is one of the most popular card games played in the Moshurian Empire, and has overtaken its parent game, Rensi, in popularity. It is most popular in Pilién, as well as most of Taráhus and the Mezcof Basin. In the north and west of the Empire, standard blackjack is more popular, while in Arnah, Japanese koi-koi and Texas hold 'em are much more popular than blackjack-based games like Mar Elsi.

Like most popular Moshurian card games, Mar Elsi is ultimately based on blackjack, and indeed a combination of a queen and an ace is still called a échjak, lit. "dark-jack".

History

Etymology

Mar Elsi, its English name, is taken from Moshurian mar elşi, a Moshurianised form of Ariéni hmâ ilzî, meaning "game [of] slips"(slips meaning "cards" in this case). hmâ is ultimately from Proto-Yeldhic *ʕʷā, "fun", of which Middle Moshurian chá-, "entertaining, entertainer, clown" is derived. ilzî is the genitive form of ilzes, ultimately from either Proto-Yeldhic *lej or *ilsē.

Creation

Mar Elsi is derived from the Moshurian card game Rensi, which achieved great popularity in downtown Taráhus and Yutlién sometime around 412 BH. So-called "hippie boys"(Yuti: xípiz, Ariéni: hxíppizi) then brought the game west to Arién, where local casinos adapted the game to fit a betting model, creating the earliest known version of Mar Elsi. This version, called hmâ tujqî(lit. "game [of] gambling") is still popular in Arién casinos, but was deemed too inappropriate for common households and thus was altered again to form hmâ ilzî, the "game of slips". This version was then brought to the Moshurian world by Moshurian aid workers who learnt the game from refugees escaping the Southern River-Shrub War.

Rise in popularity

Though the game had already been brought to Moshuria by 440 BH, it did not initially gain much popularity. As the standard 52-card deck was expensive, many less advantaged households(of which there were many in Taráhus) could not afford a deck, and thus Mar Elsi did not, or rather could not gain popularity among the very demographic it was designed for. Casinos also did not want the game either, as the betting element of hmâ tujqî had been removed, making the game unprofitable.

The game was popularised by the Moshurian kids' TV show RENIO. At the time, new economic policies had caused an economic boom that had brought millions of families out of poverty, as well as streamlined and industrialised many industries, including that of cards. To go with the drastic drop in the price of card decks, various card game companies(Roména, ENDI, Ilasna and Oberons) collaborated to create a TV show to teach children(and by extension their friends and family) how to play various card games, many of which were family-friendly versions of popular casino games, Mar Elsi included.

Although blackjack initially remained dominant over the new family demographic, Mar Elsi eventually overtook blackjack, though the exact reason is unclear(some say the smaller amount of maths you have to do in Mar Elsi compared to blackjack helped). Mar Elsi's popularity truly catapulted when the 456 BH detective mystery Lojo(basically Colombo but worse) heavily featured the game in one of its story arcs, while the Southern River-Shrub War documentary Llån Pirsa(Prellò: [ɭɔ̃m pʲirʒa], "Blue Flower") not only exposed the Moshurian army's attempts to violently suppress peaceful protests in Silgab, but in one scene also showed a group of children showing an aid worker(Utana Kollejån) how to play Mar Elsi, which also significantly contributed to the popularity of the game.