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Golgo is a game that’s popular in the belt and among belters. It’s played at special tables by opposing teams.

It’s mentioned in the book Caliban’s War, where on Tycho Station Naomi enjoys playing it in a place called Blauwe Blome and is obviously very experienced and good at it.

Holden tries to read into the rules for Golgo in his Tycho guidebook but “after a few minutes of utter confusion [...] he shut it off

One particularly confusing rule is described as: "Goals are said to be “borrowed” when the defense deflects the drive."

Later at the Blauwe Blome, Holden observes the game but the authors evade detailed explanation as he could not see exactly what was happening at the table from where he stood.

It is however mentioned that Naomi and Samara Rosenberg and “a cluster of other belters” were at a table. Sam is throwing a small metal ball at the table, followed by a lot of “sudden violent movements” from the players and eventually Naomi's team reached a score, as they celebrated. The description of the team indicates that it consists of more than two players.

In Nemesis Games, chapter 3, additional gameplay is described as follows:

"The Golgo table was set for opening throws; the first and second goals untouched and the field still empty...

The game is played by throwing steel balls

Spun the ball.

Opposition balls sprang out to hold her short, matching her spin and trying to co-opt her throw

Table registered, ending the throw; the marker appeared well past the field’s half mark."

While the authors specifically avoid going into any detail it maybe can be envisioned as a futuristic mix between something like pinball and table soccer.

Note:

In the TV episonde "Static" this part of Naomi’s story was translated into Naomi playing a game called “handball” (basically squash with bare hands) with Drummer as the specific figure of Samara Rosenberg is only briefly introduced in the TV adaptation.

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