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Indian Marble Games

Traditional Indian games were played both indoors and outdoors. Children used sticks, stones, spinning tops, kites, dice and marbles to play these games. Playing games was not simply an opportunity to have fun and make friends; the games also developed mathematical, motor and strategy building skills and improved concentration and hand-eye coordination. They nurtured teamwork while encouraging children to be competitive. Marbles were and are still used in two traditional outdoor games and in one indoor game.

Kanchey or Golli Gundu
- This game is a traditional marbles ("kanchey" means marbles) game played all over India. Children dig a small, shallow hole in the ground. Then then draw two lines, one 1/2 foot and the other 3 feet away from the hole. They position themselves behind the second line and throw a marble into the hole, one at a time. The child whose marble lands closest to the hole begins the play. The player collects two marbles from each of the other players, and holds them in one hand. He then throws these marbles together at the hole. The other players select any one marble from those that haven't fallen into the hole, and the player then has to use his marble to hit the selected marble. He shoots by holding his marble against the forefinger of his left hand, with the forefinger of his right hand, and pushing his left forefinger backwards as if he were drawing a bow, and then releasing it, such that the marble flies forward. At all times, his left thumb must rest on the ground. If he manages to strike the selected marble, he wins all the marbles in the hole, and if he is unsuccessful, he only keeps the one he used to strike with. The second player then steps forward to play his turn with the remaining marbles. Once all the marbles have been used, the winner is the person with the most marbles.
Another Traditional Marbles Game
- In another game, players draw a large circle, 4 feet in diameter, with chalk or in the soil using a stick. A large marble is chosen as the shooter. All other marbles are placed inside the circle, in a cluster. The first player uses the shooter to shoot at a marble of his choice. The objective is to displace the marbles outside the ring. He shoots by flicking the marble from his closed palm, using his thumb, almost like he would flip a coin. He then gathers the marbles he has displaced outside the ring. The second player steps in to play his turn. The game carries on till the ring is empty. The winner is the player with the most marbles.
Indoor Marbles Game
- BrainVita, a marbles game sold in India, is similar to Peg Solitaire.
  
  BrainVita is a popular single-person board game sold in India. It comprises a board with 37 indentations, in each of which, except the one in the center, sits a marble. The objective is to follow the rules of the game to remove marbles one at a time, so as to be left with as few as possible, ideally only one, at the end. A marble is removed when an adjacent marble jumps over it to a vacant indentation next to it. Marbles cannot be jumped diagonally. This move is similar to Chinese Checkers except the player cannot make multiple jumps in one move. BrainVita is sold as Peg Solitaire in the U.K.

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