Games From Around The World

NUMBERS

Africa
Skills practiced: counting, making sets

From the Mbundu tribe in Angloa, West Africa, this Numbers game is played by children as soon as they are old enough to count. The game is noncompetitive and encourages cooperation among the students. The numbers one, two, three, four, and five are called out in the Mbundu language as mosi, vali, tatu, swala, and talu. The children in East Africa, would use the language of Swahili to call the numbers as; moja (MO-jah), mbili (mm-BEE-lee) tatu (TAH-too), nne (NN-nay), and tano (TAH-no.)

It is best to play this game with the whole class. One student is designated as the Caller.

1. One player is chosen to be the Caller. The remaining children gather in a circle.
2. The Caller shouts out a number between one and five, then the players group themselves accordingly. For example, if the Caller calls out mbili (two), the players then scramble into groups of two.
3. If there are leftover players, they form their own group and shout their number to the Caller.
4. Play continues with the Caller calling out different numbers for three more games, then a new Caller is chosen.
5. For more of a challenge, play this game in several different languages to represent each culture in your classroom.

ODD OR EVEN

Greece
Skill practiced: one to one correspondence, even and odd

From ancient Greece, the idea for this game is simple: correctly guess whether a player holds an odd or even number of beans in their hand.

Each player needs one partner.

Each player needs 5 or 6 dried beans.

The object of the game is to guess correctly whether a player holds an odd or even number of beans.

1. The first players hide several beans in their closed hands. They ask their opponents, odd or even?
2. The opponents make their guess and the other players must open their hands to show the beans.
3. If the opponent's guesses are right, they win one bean. If their guess is wrong, they must give up a bean. Now it is their turn to hide their beans and the other player's turn to guess.
4. Play continues until a player is out of beans.

When there are several pairs of children, the players can change partners after each game. At the end of a specified time (ten minutes, for example) everyone stops and counts their beans. They player who has the most beans is the winner.

To check their answers, encourage the students to try to pair up the beans which are held in their hands. If each bean does not have another bean to form a pair, then the set is odd.

Jan Ken Po

Japan
Skill practiced: probability, cooperation, gamesmanship

Known as Paper, Rock, Scissors, in the United States, Jan Ken Po has been played in Japan for centuries. Many times it has been used to settle disputes or to decide who goes first. The outcome is almost always accepted without question!

Each player needs at least one partner.

The object of the game is to win the match with a superior hand. The combinations and the winners are shown below:

• Paper & Rock = Paper wins (paper covers rock)
• Scissors & Paper = Scissors wins (scissors cuts paper)
• Rock & Scisors = Rock wins (rock crushes scissors)
  1. Players sit facing eaching each other and begin by chanting Jan, Ken Po! They pump their hands up and down on the first two syllables, then on Po!, they make a sign for one of the following: Rock is a closed fist, paper is a flat hand, and scissors is a 'v' with the index and middle fingers.
  2. Whoever wins three times in a row becomes the leader. All players try to beat the leader. Whoever beats the leader three times in a row becomes the new leader.

Going To Boston

United States
Skill practiced: counting, addition, comparing more than and less than

Dice games exist all over the world in many different cultures. Dice have been designed in as many different styles: the two-sided dice used by the Native Americans, the four-sided dice used by the Egyptians, and the pyramid-shaped dice of other cultures. Going To Boston, history tells us, started in the United States on a train ride to Boston. It uses six-sided dice.

Each group consists of two or more players. Using three dice and a cup to shake and spill the dice, and a set of Unifix cubes or paper and pencil for keeping score.

The object of the game is to score the highest total after five rolls.

1. Players take turns throwing one die to determine the order of play. The person with the highest number goes first. The first player puts all three dice into the dice cup, gives it a shake and spills out the dice.
2. The player saves the die showing the highest number and places the two remaining two dice back into the cup.
3. For the young learner, direct the player to snap together Unifix Cubes into a train to equal the number showing on the saved die.
4. The player then shakes and spills the remaining dice in the cup, saving the die showing the highest number. Direct them to add this number of Unifix Cubes to their orginial train.
5. Unifix train.
6. Once this player has finished shaking, spilling, and snaping, it is the next player's turn.
7. When the partner is finished, tell the pair to compare their Unifix trains. The player with the highest score after three rolls wins. Tell them to compare their trains: more than and less than if they cannot count.

Suggested Children's Literature to enhance a unit on Multi-cultural games:

• Count Your Way through Africa Jim Haskins. Carolrhoda Books, Inc./Minneapolis. 1992. Uses the Swahili words for the numbers from one to ten to introduce the land, history, and culture ofAfrica.
• moja means one Swahili Counting Book Muriel Feelings. Dial Books for Young Readers. NY. 1971.
  • Caldecott Honor Book,1972
  • American Library Association Notable Children's Book, 1971
  • School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year, 1971
  • Child Study Association Books of the Year, 1971

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