India

Seven flat stones, an old tennis ball, and grass-stained shins.

Lahore rooftop sunset. Manjha line. Wo kaata.

One breath. Touch a defender. Get back across the line.

Sit in a line. Run in a chain. Tag the last runner before they reach.

Flip the gilli, hit it mid-air, run while it lands.

Chalked grid on the verandah. Hop on one foot. Claim a square.

Tag while hopping on one foot. Switch feet, you're out.

Wind the rope. Throw the top. Outspin or be knocked.

Glass marbles on dirt. Flick. Win the marbles you knock out.

Powdered board. Striker thump. Cover the queen.

Roll a six to start. Knock the others home.

The original snakes-and-ladders, with each square a karma.

Tamil mancala — two rows, fourteen pits, cowrie shells.

Mughal cloth board. Cowrie dice. The court game of empires.

Telugu cousin of pachisi. Tamarind seeds for dice.

Sing a song. Last consonant starts the next. The bus ride game.

Hand-tap chant: tippy tippy tap, what colour do you want?

Eyes closed. The seeker counts. The verandah falls silent.

Tag with safe-zones. Punjabi schoolyard staple.

Two arches, a song, a chosen-one underneath.

Tag with poison-and-cure tags. The ressurector saves you.

Four folded chits. Roles revealed. The thief denies it.

A letter. A grid. The pen-and-paper classic.

Maharashtrian cousin of kho-kho. Cross all the trenches.

Hit the can with a stick. Race back to the line.

Bengali rural chase game with rope-tag dynamics.

Konkani spin-and-clap dance — circle in motion.

Garbage-bin stumps. Six and out. Nicks count.