Golli is one of the most popular traditional Indian games played all over the India, it is also called as kanchey in North India and Marbles in English. This game increases the aiming and concentration skills.

In Singapore, the game of marbles, was played by children and adults, throughout the sandy patches of the Kampungs.

The Required:

A set of Golli (kanchey) (marbles or small colored glass balls about 1 cm in diameter)

2 or more players

A shallow hole is dug in open ground

How to aim?

The marble is held tautly in the forefinger of the left hand. Then the finger is stretched back like a bow-string by the pressure of the forefinger of the right hand the golli is shooted by releasing the finger Remember, while pushing the marble, the left thumb should firmly touch the ground.

Who plays first?

To decide the player who gets the first turn, two lines are drawn on the ground - one about half a foot and the other three feet away from the hole. The players stand at the second line and try to throw their marbles into the hole. The person whose marble closest to the hole gets to play first.

How to Play?

The objective of the game is to throw the Golli into the hole.

Each player contributes two gollies. The first player throws them together aiming at the hole using one hand. In those two gollies one may fall in the hole and other outside the hole or both outside the hole. Then the co players choose a golli, and then the first player is asked to hit the selected golli with another golli that belongs to him. If he succeeds, he wins all the gollies in the hole. If not, he gets the one with which he hit.

The next player takes his turn with the remaining gollies.

If all the players golli does not go into the hole at the first try then second starts, in this the players have to strike out of the way the goli thrown by the other boys. Or, with a gentle blow from one’s goli, push the other goli, so into the hole. The player who ends with the largest number of marbles is the winner.