Pallankuzhi is a rectangular wooden board having 2 rows of 7 kuzhi (pits) each. Players can use tamarind seeds, cowrie shells or even small pebbles.
How it is played
At the beginning, 6 counters are placed into each of the 14 pits.
The first player picks up all the seeds from any one of the pits on their side. They drop one in each pit counterclockwise starting from the subsequent pit.
Once the player drops the last seed, they scoop up all the seeds from the next pit and continue to drop it one by one in the same direction.
If the last seed is dropped and the next pit is empty, the player captures all the seeds from the one immediately after the empty one. These seeds will go the player’s store.
Once a capture occurs or if the last seed is placed into a pit which is followed by 2 empty pits, the player’s turn ends. The opponent begins their turn with any pit from their side.
This goes on till all the seeds are captured. Thus ends round one.
For all subsequent rounds, the players use their captured store to refill their side of the board (6 seeds per pit).
If any player does not have enough to fill all their pits, the unfilled pits are marked as rubbish pits and are blocked for play.
The game ends when a player fails to capture enough seeds to fill even one single pit when starting a new round.
Benefits
- Mental arithmetic – Players constantly calculate the number of seeds in their hand as compared to the number of pits ahead of them. This enables quick counting and subtraction skills
- Foresight – Winning requires planning several moves ahead.
- Memory Enhancement – Players must track how many seeds are accumulating in various pits without actively touching them. They can then target the most beneficial pits.
- Fine Motor skills – including finger dexterity are developed due to constant scooping and using the fingers to distribute only one seed at a time
- Hand-eye coordination improves
- Patience and focus – sustained concentration is required. A person may have to wait a long time to get their turn but they must pay attention to the active player’s moves.
- Bonding – especially across generations. Rules are simple to learn but the strategy takes time to master.
- Heritage – This is a vital piece of Indian heritage and can be source of indoor leisure.
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