Reconnecting with African games

Games to take you back to childhood or to the past

Our childhood was marked by the practice of multiform games. Nowadays, with our professional routines, it's increasingly difficult to have any real fun. To make matters worse, digital technology has taken over a lot of our time, and almost all of us are suffering from hyperconnection. During the vacations, we have a golden opportunity to reconnect with these games and relive memorable moments, like a second wind.

Africa in games

Wherever you are in Africa, there are plenty of games to be played during childhood. In our free time, we threw ourselves heart and soul into playing these games. With friends, we'd have fun, collaborate and build team spirit. The simple act of getting together brought indescribable joy. In fact, the most important thing was to have fun, sometimes to forget the stress of school or home. It's impossible to cover all these games in this article. However, we'll describe a few of them below.

L'ampe or Mbang: This is a famous game in West Africa, particularly in Ghana, Togo, Benin and even Central Africa (Cameroon to be precise). It's played mainly by girls, in pairs or in groups. One of the players (who wants to be the ringleader) stands in the middle and has to face the other players as they go along. "With each clap of the hands, the feet swung simultaneously by both players cause one or the other to win, depending on the winning position." When the middle player manages to accumulate a certain number of points, she becomes the leader.
Awalé: this is one of the most representative games on the African continent. It's a tactical game based on the principle of sowing seeds in order to harvest them. The winner is the player who manages to collect more seeds than his opponent, especially as the game is played with twelve holes (two rows of six). During the game, one of the players captures all the seeds in one of his holes and distributes them counter-clockwise to the other squares. If the last pawn is placed in one of the opponent's holes containing two or three pawns, they are taken by the player, and so on. This game highlights the values (sowing, harvesting, building a house, etc.) of African culture.
Kudoda: This game originated in Zimbabwe. Played by two or three players, the aim at the end of the game is to end up with as many pebbles as possible in your hand. One of the players throws a pebble into the air and tries to pick up as many pebbles as possible before catching up with the one thrown before. After a round of applause, the player with the most stones in his hands wins the game.

Making games last

Beyond the simple practice of African games, reflections have led to the organization of events to make them perennial and keep them in people's memories. In Cameroon, for example, the pousse-pion festival was launched in 2019 under the impetus of Gérard NGan. According to Gérard NGan, the aim is to: "to bring back the Cameroonian games of yesteryear". Since the advent of the festival, there has been a significant increase in visitors from all over the world. They come out of curiosity and a desire to immerse themselves in the games. It's always a moment of sharing and fun.

In Côte d'Ivoire, the national festival of traditional games is an event that attracts players from all over the country. As with the "pousse-pion" festival, the aim is to pass on traditional knowledge to the young and enable them to connect with their culture. In November 2022, at the time of the first edition, over 200 games were on sale. According to Isabelle Anoh, general curator of the festival, some of them were in competition to select the best game. It was also an opportunity for game players from all over the country to meet and, above all, discover other national game practices.

The challenge of escape

Getting away from it all once in a while remains important. Although we are increasingly connected, it is always necessary to think about a digital detox to regain a certain balance between professional life and well-being. Already, after a year of intense activity, immersed in a professional routine and the deafening noise of the city, it's a good idea to get away from it all and rediscover yourself.

What better way to do this than by playing the games of our childhood, to remember those carefree moments when we were eager to blossom, before the stress of commitment and becoming took over? This vacation getaway comes at just the right time to reinvigorate ourselves. From one game to the next, we can rediscover ourselves and learn to be children again. Being a child reminds us that we must relearn to trust, to be simple and open to others, without calculation or prejudice.

Illustration: image generated by Meta AI

Sources :

Ampe - country and region games - https://youtu.be/wRy5K21V76k?feature=shared

Games made in Africa - https://blk-sqr.com/les-jeux-made-africa/

Awalé - https://www.lecomptoirdesjeux.com/l-awale.htm

PlayAwale - https://playawale.com/

Kukoda - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIv6A36Fq6A

Traditional African games: African children's games
https://www.jeuxetcompagnie.fr/jeux-traditionnels-africains/

(21) Pousse-pions Festival in Cameroon: reviving forgotten games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvHzuOmdS9A

plb72 Poussepions - https://escaleajeux.fr/p/plb72_poussepions.pdf

Over 300 players compete at the national festival of traditional games.
https:// youtu.be/YUHUpjYNOtQ?si=u3_SQMqAUiU3Z6K_

Côte d'Ivoire: traditional games for the second edition at Banco Park in CAN mode.
https://www.tourisme.gouv.ci/accueil/actualites/cote-divoire-les-jeux-traditionnels-pour-la-2eme-edition-au-parc-du-banco-en-mode-can/89