This is a strategic game usually played by elderly people. It was a timer killer game invented by our forefathers thousands of years ago. The game is made up of wood and cluttering stone, and It's very common in West Africa, especially among the South West region of Nigeria. The game has many variants and indigenous. In my own region we call it Ayò, Ayoayo (Yoruba) while other climes have indigenous names for it such as Awalé (Ivory Coast), Wari (Mali), Warri (Caribbean), Wali (Dagbani), Ouri, Ouril or Uril (Cape Verde), Adji (Ewe), Nchọ/Ókwè (Igbo), ise (Edo), Awale in (Ga)

Each I see this game I always remember my late grandfather and his undying love for it. While this game is played my two persons there are other several players waiting for someone to the thrashed before they come and challenge the winner.

What added to the fun of the game is that players always boast and brag they can beat one another. Also, Ayo is not only a household game because people normally leave their houses to challenge the winner in other street.

When talking about historical games, Ayo is one of those games that will forever go down in the history of ancient games. The fascinating thing about it is that every aspect of life is embedded in it.

For thousands of years, aware has been used as an educational tool for children in Africa and all over the world and I'm glad that despite the evolution of games we can see that developers were able to make it available on devices and microcomputer.

Ayo requires some kind of strategic and calculation skills before you can acquire more seeds than your opponent. It's a game that does not only help your strategic and calculating skills but also the ability to plan while predicting the choice of your opponent.

Rules of the game

To play this game, you need a board and forty-eight seeds or stones. (Some people use stones while some use seeds).The game board consists of two rolls carved directly opposite each other. Some boards were made with two larger holes to keep your captured seeds some boards do not have it. Each hole of the board contains four seeds at the start of the game and a player starts by sowing seeds followed by the opponent.

Goal of the game

You just have to do all you can to capture more seeds than your opponent because the player with the highest number of captured seeds wins the match. In a situation when both players end up capturing the same amount of seeds, the game is said to end in a draw

Gameplay

The game does not require any process other than capturing-sowing-collecting. During the game, a player sows seeds and then capture it. But hey! It's not as easy as you think

End of the game

Typically, the game ends when a player is able to capture more than 24 seeds or when both players capture the same amount of seeds. In a situation when a player can no longer make a legal move on his turn, each player is expected to capture the remaining seed in their own domain.

Ayo is a nice game, fun, addictive and challenging. It's a game that is challenging enough to get the whole day stress out. Although, it's been a long time I played this game maybe because I no longer see it around or because kids of today don't know how to play it 😁

Those of us from the African region are very family with this game but I don't know if those of us who are non Africans are familiar with it.

Do you really know this game and have you played it?

If you have any knowledge about this game kindly share it in the comment section