Brilli is a game still played by adults in western Gozo, in those remote areas undisturbed by cars where streets have retained their fuction as a meeting place for the villagers.

Objects needed

Nine skittles (brilli) and a spherical wooden ball are the materials required to play the game. The skittles are arranged to form a square with three rows, each row containing three skittles. A different term is used to describe the skittles according to their position in the square. The four brilli at the corners are called qriemec, while the central skittle is referred to as is-sultan . The remaining four skittles are known as is-sekondi.
Each skittle is conical in shape, stability being provided by a metallic ring placed around the base. Is-Sultan has a spherical projection at its top to distinguish it from the other brilli.

Playing the Game

At least five to six people are needed for the game to be played. The place chosen for the first throw (messa)  is marked by a stone.

The first throw (il-moll) gains points according to the number and type of skittles dropped. Thus is-sultan gains 18 points, is-sekond 12 points while the qriemec 1 point. If however more than one type of pin is dropped (example: sultan and qarmuc ) only 2 points for each dropped pin is gained.

A line (il-Hazz) is drawn at the place where the ball stops after the first throw. The second attempt is thrown from this line and gains two points for every skittle dropped.
 
 

Reference:-

 Attard A; Il-Loghba tal-Brilli:In 'Fiera ta' L-Ghadira 6 ta' April 1997'  pp 49,51
 
 

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