Games We Played
as Children
Around the world, children love
to play different versions of the same traditional games. While growing
up, they love shooting marbles, playing tag, spinning tops, playing hopscotch,
playing jacks, and jumping rope.
Games Played with
Sticks and Stones (or small metal objects)
In these games sticks or stones
are usually tossed into the air and have to be caught.
In Nepal (see "Dundi Biyo"),
young boys tossed pointed sticks into the air and tried to catch them.
In Korea (see "Kongki Noli"), young girls play a game of jacks, tossing
small stones onto the ground, throwing a ball up in the air, and and trying
to pick the stones up before catching the ball. In Indonesia (see "Bekel")
young girls play a similar game, using small steel objects.
Dundi Biyo (A Game
Played with Sticks)
Milan Gurung from Nepal
There are a lot of games that
we would play when we were young. As far as I can remember, I used to play
the game called Dundi Biyo quite often with my friend. Sometimes we would
skip school and play this game all day long.
This game requires two straight
sticks. The main stick is about 24 to 30 inches long, and the other one
is about 6 inches with both ends pointed. It is played by tow or more people
in an open field.
We decided who would start
the game by throwing the small stick. Whoever threw the furthest started
the game. A small hole was dug in the ground, and the small stick was placed
on tip of the hole.
The person who started the
game threw the small stick from the hole with the main stick. The other
players would run and try to catch the small stick in the air without dropping
it on the ground. If the stick was caught, the first player would be out
of the game. But if the stick was dropped on the ground, the same player
resumed the same. The player then tossed the small stick in the air by
hitting on its sharp edge and threw the stick further with the main stick.
If the player missed the
toss, the distance between the hole and the position of the small stick
was measured and another player started the game in the same way. At the
end of the game, whoever threw the small stick furthest from the hole (i.e.
distance was measured between the small stick and the hole won the game.)
The game is dangerous because
you might get hurt if you are hit by the stick while playing, so you have
to be very careful, and it must be played in an open field.
Kongki Noli (Jacks)
Lee Young-Ah from Korea
This game is for girls. When
we were little girls, we used to play this came at break time or lunch
time in the classroom. There were two ways to play the game.
One way we used five small
stones. First of all, we threw all of them down on the floor. Then you
picked one up with your fingers and tossed it into the air. You had to
pick another one up and then catch the one you threw in the air. Then you
picked each of them up in turns.
The second round you played,
you picked two stones up at a time. The third round you played, you picked
three of them up, then you picked the last one up. The fourth round you
picked four of them up.
The last step you tossed
the stones into the air and caught them on the back of your hand. You had
to snatch them off and try to catch them in your palm. The number which
you caught was your score. After that, you started over. If you failed
to catch them, it was your partner's turn.
The second way we played,
we used 100-200 stones. We put them all together and tried to make groups.
If you succeeded in catching them, they would be yours.
When we played this game,
we used our fingers. According to some researchers, moving your fingers
helps develop your brain, so I think this game is very good for children.
Bekel (Jacks)
Hasanuddin Rachman from
Indonesia
The items you need to Bekel
are a rubber ball (size of a ping pong ball) and a maximum of 10 steel
objects (size of a dice). There can be one or more players. The main point
of this game is to see who is the most skillful in picking up the objects
without making a mistake.
Play the game while sitting
on the floor. The objects should be placed on the floor in front of the
players. The first player holds the ball and throws it upwards. Each time
the player throws the ball, she will try to pick up one object and at the
same time catch the ball with the same hand. She keeps on doing this until
she picks up all the objects one by one. If she is successful in doing
this, then she will go to the next level.
The next level is to do
the same as above, but to pick up 2 objects each time. This continues until
she can pick up all 10 objects at one time.
The game continues through
several levels of difficulties:
*pick up the objects individually
(1 to 10)
*place the objects face
up on the floor (1 to 10)
*place the objects face
down on the floor (1 to 10)
*place the objects upside
down on the floor (1 to 10)
*place the objects right
side up on the floor (1 to 10)
The player who can go through
all the levels of difficulties wins the game.
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