Did you know?
Carrom began in India! It has 9 white coins and 9 black coins. The one red coin is called the queen.
Pallanguzhi is an old game from South India. Players move tamarind seeds or shells around a board with 14 cups.
The word 'checkmate' comes from the Persian words 'shah mat'. They mean 'the king is helpless'!
Try this: Family Antakshari
Antakshari means 'the game of the ending letter'. Sit in a circle with your family. One person sings a line from any song. The next person sings a song starting with that song's last sound. You can sing in any language! No song can be sung twice. If you get stuck, you are out. The last singer left wins!
Go further: Egg-Tray Mancala
Pallanguzhi belongs to a big family of games called mancala. In these games, you scoop up seeds from one cup. Then you drop them one by one into the next cups. Oware is a mancala game played in Ghana, in Africa. Its board has 2 rows of 6 cups. An empty egg tray has 2 rows of 6 cups too! Put 4 seeds or buttons in each cup. Then invent your own rules with a friend.