The first evidence of the game is the fragment of a pottery board and several rock cuts found in Aksumite Ethiopia in Matara (now in Eritrea) and Yeha (in Ethiopia), which are dated by archaeologists to between the 6th and 7th century AD; the game may have been mentioned by Giyorgis of Segla in his 14th century Ge'ez text "Mysteries of Heaven and Earth," where he refers to a game called qarqis, a term used in Ge'ez to refer to both Gebet'a (Mancala) and Sant'araz (modern sent'erazh, Ethiopian Chess).[1] The similarity of some aspects of the game to agricultural activity and the absence of a need for specialized equipment present the intriguing possibility that it could date to the beginnings of civilization itself; however, there is little verifiable evidence that the game is older than about 1300 years.
wondering what this is about - this is our own Pallanghuzi!!!, or Pallankuli. In Andhra it goes by the name Vamana guntalu
Astralagi:
Knucklebones or astralagi was a common game in ancient Greece. One version of the game was similar to the modern game of jacks. It involved throwing the knucklebones â" which were usually sheep anklebones â" into the air and catching them on the back of the hand. Another version of the game consisted of throwing one of the bones into the air and then trying to pick the others up from the ground before catching the first.
ofcourse we have our parama pada soppanam ( snakes n ladders??), Thaya pass ( ludo /dice)...low investment, wholesome entertainment ( you need to pass the night remember - siva rathiri day) and of course an easy way to teach mathematics and counting to our kids..