As the shadows would begin extending their tendrils towards the East and clay brick facades would be cast in a golden light, children would gravitate towards the galli like moths to a flame. Some children would bring their own equipment from home – which gave them great power – but for most games, all you needed was a willingness to play hard. Only the call to Maghrib and the fear of jinns roaming the earth at that hour would draw the children away from their games.

Unfortunately, these are stories of the past. As I’ve grown up, I’ve even witnessed a shift from mobile games to sitting in front of the TV with hazy eyes and a drooling mouth. Simply reminiscing about those times over chai is not enough. We must work to bring them back so instead of blue light, children can bathe in sunlight; scrape their knees, get back on their feet and pull their friends along too; feel the itch of boredom and use the vastness of the world around them to broaden their own horizons and create to their hearts’ desire. Here’s a list of 10 games that our parents used to play and that we can bring back:

1. Beech ki Billi

The words themselves are pretty self-explanatory. This game is played by a total of three people. Two players stand apart and throw a ball back and forth to each other, while the third person takes up the role of billi, standing in the middle and trying to intercept and catch the ball. This game was like a volleyball championship, but instead of the net, people were used.

2. Ludo

This game has simple rules, and one of those rules is to bring chaos. It can be played by a minimum of two and a maximum of four players who take turns rolling the dice. Each player must roll a six to get their goti out of the starting box, after which they must navigate it across the entire board to reach the finish. If your parents were to describe this game in one word, it would definitely be ‘evil’. Getting a six is a major challenge, otherwise, your goti stays stuck in the starting box. On the flip side, killing another person’s goti was pure joy. One could easily say this game resulted in the invention of flipping boards as an outcome of sheer frustration.

3. Carrom

Chess isn’t the only game that has a queen. Another game that involves a queen is carrom. Unlike chess, you fight over which kingdom would be ruled by her: black or white. This game can be played with a minimum of two and a maximum of four players. Nineteen discs or carrom-men (nine black, nine white and one red) are arranged in the centre of the board. Players use a larger, heavier disc called a striker to pocket their assigned colour pieces. Pocketing a piece lets you keep your turn. The real challenge, however, is to secure the queen. After pocketing her, you must cover the queen by pocketing one of your pieces in the very next turn.

4. Pithu Garam

A game where a single pile of stones divides the playground into two sides: the hunters and the hunted. This game involves two teams: the seekers and the hitters. The seekers try to knock down the stone tower, and once it falls, they frantically attempt to rebuild it. On the other hand, the hitters try to eliminate the seekers by hitting them with a ball. Once the ball hits a seeker, that seeker is out of the round. However, if the seekers manage to successfully rebuild the tower, they must shout ‘Pithu garam!’ to win the point. It’s not a game; it’s a proper battle.

5. Hopscotch/Stapu

Chalk wasn’t just used to write on school boards; it wasn’t made only for teaching. It was also made for playing. This game involves drawing a court — consisting of a series of connected and numbered squares — on the ground using a piece of chalk. The player going first tosses a small object, like a stone, inside the boundary of square one. They then hop through the entire court, skipping the square containing the object. Once the player reaches the end of the court, they must turn around, hop back, and collect the stone on their way. If a player steps on a line, loses their balance while hopping, or throws the object outside the designated square, their turn is immediately over. If you ask your mother about this, she will definitely tell you this was her

absolute favourite game.

6. Gulli Danda

This game is like the rustic cousin of cricket and baseball. Unlike its famous relatives, it never gained massive international fame, but it remains legendary across South Asia. The game involves a batsman who uses a long wooden stick (the danda) to flick a small piece of wood (the gulli) out of a shallow pit and high into the air. While it’s airborne, the batsman strikes the gulli with danda as hard as possible. Points are scored based on distance. Every danda-length equals one point, so if the gulli travels five danda-lengths, the player gets five points. However, the batsman gets out if a fielder catches the gulli mid-air, or if they pick it up from the ground and successfully hit the danda, which the batsman has placed flat across the starting pit.

7. Bandar Killa

The lion may be the king of the jungle, but the monkey is definitely the king of games. This sport is named after the monkey. A central pole or firmly driven nail (killa) is set into the ground, and a short rope is tied to it. The player who loses pugan pugayee becomes the monkey (Bandar) and must hold the loose end of the rope. All the other players take off their shoes and arrange them in a circle around the pole. Restricted to the radius of the rope, the Bandar’s sole goal is to tag any of the other players as they frantically rush in to retrieve their footwear.

8. Baraf Pani

This game brings the heat — or should I say cold? — to the simple game of Pakran Pakrayi where the tagger chases other players and tags them to transfer the turn. In other words, it is much more intense. In Baraf Pani (Ice-water literally), if you get tagged, the turn isn’t transferred to you. Instead, you get frozen in place. This is where your friends come in. They must touch you and say ‘Pani!’ to melt you, after which you can start running again, while dodging the tagger themselves. It really brings your friendships into question: how far can your friends go for you?

9. Oonch Neech ka Pahar

For this game, you need a high surface – even a rock a few centimetres above the ground works. The tagger says ‘Oonch! (Up)’ or ‘Neech! (Down)’ and in a matter of seconds, your whole world is turned upside down. If the tagger says ‘Oonch!’ high surfaces are safe and vice versa. Whoever doesn’t get to safety in time is tagged and it’s their turn next.

10. Chuppan Chupayi

Last but not the least, chuppan chupayi! It’s arguably the most versatile game since it can be played anywhere and in many different ways. In its simplest form, it involves a few hiders and a seeker but there can be multiple seekers if it’s a large group. The seeker covers their eyes and counts out loud to ten while the hiders scamper for a hiding spot. To really take it to the next level, you can make the seeker wear a blindfold and snicker behind your hand while they fumble for you.