Archery Tournament

In the 1st-century epic Mahabharata, the famed archer Arjuna competes in an archery tournament for the hand of the beautiful princess Draupadi. Rushing home to announce his victory, he blurts out to his mother that he has won a great prize. Her response is an order to share this prize with his four brothers. Since Arjuna's mother always speaks the truth, this is in fact what comes to pass, and Draupadi becomes the bride of all five men!

For Draupadi's swayamvara (the "choosing of a life partner") the target was an elaborate one: an artificial fish was attached to a revolving disk suspended above a pool of water. The archers had to aim by looking only at the target's reflection. Arjuna's aim was so unerring he hit the fish right in the eye.

Working under the assumption that you are not an epic hero, we have provided a rather more conventional target. Your objective in this game is to compete as Arjuna did, and perhaps to win a life partner. But if you do win, perhaps you'd better hold off a bit before you break the news to Mom.

How to Play

Shoot arrows at the target to score points.

• Select a computer opponent to play against.
  1. Kshatriya - a member of the aristocratic warrior caste to which Arjuna belongs. Kshatriyas are highly skilled with a bow, indeed with all weapons, and they are very hard to best in this kind of competition.
  2. Vaishya - a member of the merchant/artisan and agricultural caste, the Vaishya is more beatable than the Kshatriya once you acquire skill yourself. Although Vaishyas spend most of their energy on business, they bear arms in times of war and, with the permission of the Kshatriya landowners, sometimes hunt.
  3. Brahmin - a member of the priestly caste, the Brahmin neither fights in battle nor--being a vegetarian--hunts for food. Brahmins may take up arms in times of emergency, but as a rule the Brahmin has the least skill with bow and arrow, and is easiest to beat.
• To fire an arrow: Use the mouse to aim the crosshairs over the target and press the left mouse button to shoot.
  • "Oh, that should be easy!" - You'd think, huh? Well, the thing is, the pressure of the occasion has made you nervous, and your aim is, shall we say, a little "shaky".
• Each player shoots three consecutive arrows. You take your turn first, your opponent goes second.
• Points are scored depending on where the arrow lands.
  • White - 1 point.
  • Black - 2 points.
  • Blue - 3 points.
  • Red - 4 points.
  • Yellow - 5 points.
  • Fisheye - 6 points.
  The maximum you can score with all three arrows is 18 points.

FAQ

Can I download the game to play offline?

I can't stop you downloading the SWF file, but the game won't work if you do.

Do I have to download the Flash plugin?

Sorry, yes you do.

What does the elephant do?

Um, nothing, it's just there to add a little touch of atmosphere.

Why are there sheep in the sky?

-Ahem- the "sheep" are, in fact, clouds.

Something is wrong with the game! It makes my mouse wobble, and I can't click on the target with precision.

That is precisely how the game is supposed to work! You don't think I'd make it easy for you, so you could just click on the fisheye each time?

Where can I play more games like this?

For more games like this visit Flash Games with an Historical Theme, where you can whack some Caesars on the head and find some Incan treasure. You can find additional games on UCO's Passport to Italy games page, created for 2004's Passport program.

I keep getting ActiveX warning messages when I try and launch the game.

You're using Internet Explorer, and this is a standard message for downloading "objects" when you are surfing on a high security setting (good for you!). You can prevent this by adding this domain to your "trusted" sites (this is preferable to temporarily lowering your shields, because if you're like me, you'll forget to raise them again).