The Lenape Deer Button Game
The Lenape (len-AH-pay) are an Algonquian nation of the Eastern Woodlands. Their homeland, Lenapehoking, included what is now New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southern New York, and northern Delaware. The name Manhattan comes from a Lenape word. English colonists called the Lenape the “Delaware,” after the river that runs through their homeland.
Games of chance were a favorite way for families and friends to pass long winter evenings together. In the deer button game, players toss seven beans that are dark on one side and light on the other, then trade corn kernels depending on how the beans land.
These rules come from a version created by the late James (Lone Bear) Revey, a Lenape descendant, and shown at The State Museum of Pennsylvania.
Play the Game
How Scoring Works
| Dark sides up | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0 | No corn changes hands. |
| 1 | You give 1 corn to each player. |
| 2 | You give 2 corn to each player. |
| 3 | You give 3 corn to each player. |
| 4 | You give 4 corn to each player. |
| 5 | Each player gives you 2 corn. Toss again! |
| 6 | Each player gives you 4 corn. Toss again! |
| 7 | Each player gives you 10 corn. Toss again! |
The first player to collect all the corn wins.
Toss Tally
How many dark sides landed up on each toss this game?
Tosses: 0
Think Like a Mathematician
Play a game or two, then look at your Toss Tally.
- Which numbers of dark sides came up most often? Which came up least often?
- There is only one way for all seven beans to land dark side up, but there are 35 ways for exactly three to land dark side up. How does that explain your tally?
- Why do you think the game gives the biggest reward for the rarest toss?
Make Your Own Deer Button Game
Materials
- 7 large dried lima beans
- a black permanent marker
- dried corn or unpopped popcorn kernels: 12 to 24 for each player
- a tray or shallow basket for tossing, such as a wicker paper-plate holder
- optional: wood-grain Contact paper to line the tray
Directions
- Color one side of each bean completely with the marker. Let it dry.
- To make a tray, cut a circle of Contact paper to fit inside the paper-plate holder. Decorate it with your own design, then peel off the backing and press it into the holder.
- Give each player the same number of corn kernels.
- Take turns shaking the beans in your cupped hands and tossing them into the tray. Count the dark sides and use the scoring chart.
- Keep playing until one player has all the corn.
