Upon the ruby studded ground
Men faced each other, fat and round
Each one standing, all like drones
Never to touch the precious stones
They march toward each other through the plains
A battle ensues and one remains
One man marches through the dead
And places a crown upon his head
Soon, only one army is left alive

I ask you, what is being described?

(In reply to My guess... by Jack Lim)

That's a pretty good alternate solution. 

I, however, also think the answer is checkers.  The "ruby studded ground" describes the red squares on the checkerboard.  "Never to touch the precious stones" refers to the fact that the pieces only occupy the black squares on the board.

Posted by tomarken on 2006-03-02 09:32:37