Lakhoti

Lakhoti

Lakhoti is one of the most important traditional game which is played all over India. It is also known by Kancha, Golli, Goti and Marbles (English). This game is considered as one of the street games and this game increases the aiming and concentration skills.

History

1)      People have been playing marbles and marble like games for thousands of years. It is thought that marble started with the cave people playing with small pebbles or balls of natural clay.

2)      Clay balls have been found in the tomb of Egypt, they have also been found in Native American burial grounds. They have also been discovered in pyramids.

3)      It is also said that marbles might have originated in Harappan Civilization in Pakistan near the river Indus. A lot of different marbles were found on excavation near Mohenjo-daro. They were commonly made of clay, stone or glass.

4)      Ceramic marbles entered inexpensive mass production in the 1870s.

5)      In 1846 a German glass blower invented the marble scissors (a mold to make marbles) that revolutionized the process of making marbles.

6)      In 1890, the first machine that made marbles were made in Germany and later that year in the U.S.

7)      In 1950, several types of marbles were invented and experimented. First, in Japan the cat’s eye type marble was created by injecting colored glasses into the normal marble. Then in U.S people found out that if you bake your marbles before they cool you will get crackled effect.

8)      Perhaps the biggest event took place when in 1960 Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon) describes the earth as a big blue marble.

9)      These days marbles are made of all sort of materials.Glass is very popular. Clay marbles are also made but are not so accurate as compared to glass marbles. Almost all marbles are machine made. Glass marbles are made by melting glass in a furnace and poured into the molds, then colored glasses are injected into the molten marbles by creating design like cat eyes.

10)   For thousands of years marbles have proved to be the most interesting and popular Indian traditional game which is also played all over the wold.

Aiming Technique

When you start aiming at the marble, the marble is held tightly in the forefinger. Then its stretched back like a bow and arrow by the pressure of the other hand’s forefinger. Then the goti is shot by releasing the finger. While pushing the marble the thumb should firmly touch the ground.

How To Play

1)      To decide which player gets the first chance, two lines are drawn on the ground – one about half a foot and the other three feet away from the hole. The players stand at the second line and try to throw the marbles into the hole. The person whose marble is closest to the hole gets the chance to play first.

2)      One way of playing is by throwing the goli into the hole.

a)      Each player contributes two marbles. The first player throws all the marbles aiming at the whole by one hand.

b)      In those two marbles one may fall in the hole and other outside the hole or both outside the hole. Then the co players choose a marble, and then the first player is asked to hit the selected marble with another marble that belongs to him. If he succeeds, he wins all the marbles in the hole. If not, he gets the one with which he hits.

c)       The next player takes his turn with the remaining marbles.

d)      If all the player’s marbles does not go into the hole at the first try then the second round starts where the players have to strike out the way of the marbles thrown by the other boys and try to push the marble into the whole.

e)      The player who ends with the largest number of marbles is the winner.

3)      The other way of playing marble is this:

a)      The marbles are played in a triangle. A triangle is drawn on the ground with a chalk or with a stick. Then a line is drawn about 7 feet away from where each one tries to hit the marble.

b)      So you have to hit the marble. How many ever you hit, those marbles are yours leaving less marble in the triangle for the other players to hit.

 

4)      The other way is :

a)      A square is drawn on the ground with a chalk or a stick.

b)      Marbles are arranged in the square.

c)       The players turn by turn tries to hit the marble.

d)      The number of marbles that the player after hitting tries to roll out of the square is his. The player who manages to get large number of marbles wins the game.

Even it could be played in a circle shape.