Childhood games

Hey y’all!

Hard to believe its half-way through Monday already huh?! Even harder, knowing that September is over. But we are ‘cite and looking forward to cooler fall temps. Florida, enough already with the sweltering, hot and humid weather. And hello to gorgeous lower temps. I’d take any weather below 90s. Any day, any time 😉

I had fun reading your comments on Monday Blues. Many shared similar pet peeves and otherwise. One that strikes out in particular to me is where music is ON as soon as you visit a blog or webpage. A huge NO to me. Very annoying. I mean, who could concentrate on reading with such disturbance? I’d rather hear it on MP3 or CD, thank you very much.

Reminiscing childhood

With each year flying by in a speed of light, I love reminiscing some of my favorite childhood memories. Memories of growing up in a joint family and spending quality time with the cousins, were the best time of my life. We all ate, played and studied together. There were no competitiveness. Just sheer fun, laughter and occasional tears. Memories often creep when I am looking for comfort after a long day, or simply missing many of my family and friends back in Malaysia.

I recalled playing many outdoor games together. There weren’t any indoor electronic gaming device those days. Well, there might have been Mario Brothers, played using a cartridge. But it was considered “luxury”. What is the fun of sitting on your butt whole day, while fingers bruised from excessive handling of the joystick? Its sad that many kids these days lock themselves indoor, occupied with electronic gaming devices. I am in no way blaming them. It’s a different era where technology has taken control of our lives. It definitely can’t be compared to being active outdoor, in the nature with friends, making wonderful memories together.

Hailing from Malaysia, we played many common (and otherwise) outdoor games. Let’s take a look at some of the games I enjoyed playing whilst growing up:

Hide and seek (Source)

Many of us are surely familiar with hide-and-seek. No matter how hot the weather was, it was never a reason not to get out in the sweltering heat to play with neighborhood kids.

That’s an easy one, right?

How about those that might be uncommon in your neck-of-woods?

Main getah –  sort of jumping ropes (Source)

Many rubber (elastic) bands is used to weave into a long string. It was played by testing one’s ability to jump over string in numerous heights. With hairy legs, I had my share of blisters playing this one. Sigh. Albeit painful, it was a great form of exercise, endurance, coupled with a rush of adrenaline. Good stuff.

Kite (Wau) flying (Source)

A kid with "wau" - a special kite

More than a game, kite or (wau) in our  neck of woods were such an interesting hobby. I recalled taking a class on wau making and afterwards, taking it for a test on the school field. First, I had trouble getting the wau to float up in the sky. Of course, when I finally got it up, it eventually dropped and got tangled in a tree. Well, at least I have the experience with kite flying. My version, of course. Well, you can’t expect perfection from a kid 😀

Congkak (Source)

Congkak is known as one of Malaysian’s traditional game. It is played with a congkak board, generally carved with mahogany or teak wood.

The word congkak is believed to originate from old Malay “congak“, meaning “mental calculation” which is mainly practiced in this game. It is regarded that an efficient player who mentally calculates a few steps in advance will have an advantage in collecting points to win the game – Source.

Marbles (Source)

We collected many marbles those days. It made our pockets heavy, or in many cases – torn! A game played by creating a border and hitting a single marble used as the “target”. It was usually played during recess 😀

Keting-Ting or Hopscotch (Source)

Hopscotch is played widely around the world. There are many variations in this game.

Batu seremban (Source)

Using smooth stones totaling 5, 7 or 9, the objective is to throw one stone and sweeping the rest while catching the one thrown earlier on. The more stones swept in one sitting, the higher chances of winning. Sounds easy, but it can be difficult to balance.

Gasing or Top spinning (Source)

I don’t recall playing a lot of “gasing“. Perhaps I perceived it more of a male game?

There you have it, a long list of many outdoor games I enjoyed during my childhood. The list is longer than what is outlined, but I wanted to give y’all the opportunity to enlighten me with your favorite childhood games. Ready, set, comment away 😀