One of the things that made childhood fun-filled was the numerous games we played as children. Though I'm now more reserved and introverted, I wasn't left out in the fun. I was very playful especially with the kids in the neighbourhood.
Games help relieve stress and break boredom too. As children, playing together was a way of bonding and building friendship with other kids.
MY FAVOURITE GAMES
My favourite childhood games are as follows:
Utop Nsa
This is the native name for this game. It could be played alone or with one other person.
The game is played by throwing 7 stones on the floor. You pick one stone, throw it up and while it's in the air you pick up a stone from the ground and catch the stone you threw up. Altogether you'll be having two stones in hand.
The process is repeated till you finish picking each stone.
Next round you throw a stone and pick up two stones then you catch the one you threw up making it three stones in hand altogether.
The process goes on till you have to throw a stone and pick the remaining six all at once.
The game is very fun to me because I have to learn to catch the stone I threw up with speed and without missing the other stones I have to pick up.
The game is otherwise played with periwinkle shells. I'm very good at this game.
Tinko - Tinko (The Clapping Game)
Image
Tinko is another very popular native game in AkwaIbom state, Nigeria. It is a game of two. The two parties playing the game open their palms and mould the tip of the fingers then touch each other's palm. After that they begin to clap their palms interchangeably and they…. Omor! English has finished. 😂😂😂😂This game is fun. That's the important message.
Knorty-Knorty
Knorty is majorly a leg game. It is played by clapping of hands and removing legs by the two parties. If your co player removes the same leg as you three times, he/she wins over you. As you play you song "knorty knorty, knor 1, knor 2, knor 3….". It's a really lovely game.
Police and Thief
Image
This game is very similar to pursuer. It is played by numerous people. First all players choose between letters P and T. Those who pick P are the police while those who pick T are the thieves. The police count from 1-5 and while they're counting the thieves hide. When they're done counting, the go in search of the thieves. I loved this game a lot because I was very tiny. I could fit into the cupboard and it was always very difficult to find me.
Whot (Big Number Out)
This should be a very familiar game to all, the WHOT game is a game of cards, shapes and numbers. It could be played by numerous people. It has different methods of playing but I loved "big number out". In this method of paying , all players play either by the same shape or the same number. If any member checks up i.e finishes the cards I'm his/her hands, the game ends. The rest of the players add the numbers on their cards and the person with the biggest number is kicked out of the game.
The game continues till only one player is remaining, the last player wins the game.
This game is always very unpredictable, you can't be so sure of winning so it makes everyone anxious, this is why I love the game. Sometimes a player brags and mocks another player. If he/she gets kicked out everyone laughs too.😂😂
These are my favourite childhood games. Other games I also loved were the singing game which includes:- Who is in the garden, there is fire on the mountain. Please drop your comments if you can relate to any of the games. Thank you for reading.
