BrooklynB

:) Before the advent of mobile devises and apps – children of my generation were entertained and occupied for hours and at most no cost at all – with the below games.

(1) Lat Tali Lat >> this unique Malaysian hand game is played by three players or more. It is often played when there is a need to decide on how to split multiple players into two teams when playing other games. Two popular versions of the chant in this game are ‘Lat tali lat tali tam plom’ or ‘Lai lai lili lai tam tom’.

(2) Five Stones >> this game is better known in Malaysia by the name; Batu Seremban. Mostly played by girls, it is a good test of dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Though it can be played with actual stones, colorful sand-filled batu seremban were also popular.

(3) Rock, Paper, Scissors >> this popular hand game between two players was said to have been invented in ancient China. The local version of the game is sometimes referred to as ‘One, two, jus’ or ‘One, two, som’. This game is sometimes played with punishment variants.

(4) Eraser Battle >> this classroom game gained popularity about 30 years ago. Children would take turns flipping their erasers with the aim of landing on their opponent’s eraser. They used to collect cheap fancy erasers with country flags on them for this purpose.

(5) Conquer >> yet another modern classroom game, based on the traditional Japanese board game; “GO”. Mathematics exercise book with gridlines are used to play this game, where two players take turns drawing their selected symbol to surround the other player’s units. This game requires a lot of strategy.

(6) Pepsi-Cola >> no one seems to know how the name came about, but this game seems to have gained popularity from the 1990s onwards. Standing in a ring, players chant ‘Pepsi-Cola’ and jump apart. Taking turns, players must try to kick the foot of another player who tries to dodge him or her, eliminating each other until one winner remains.