Popular Games
Juegos populares en Irán

Popular Iranians Games 

Games are often culturally charged and traditional Iranian games, on top of that, enjoy a great variety. Due to the broad climate, ethnicity and tribe in Iran, these games have been designed for specific purposes and have become common among the population. In Iran there are more than 150 types of traditional games that the new generation is no longer familiar with due to the passage of time, new technologies and lifestyle changes. These games are divided into two groups: indoor and outdoor games. These games, in turn, have allowed people to enjoy their leisure time anywhere and some of them are socially and culturally common in most cities in Iran.

1- Kabaddi (Zu-Breath hold game)

This is a very common game among Iranians. Kabaddi is played between two teams whose members have been selected respectively, called “wolf” and “lamb.” One of the wolf team players keeps chanting “zu” uninterruptedly in order to capture lamb team players. If the lambs manage not to be touched until the wolf stops singing “zu”, they turn the wolf into a lamb. If not, the attacker returns to his teammates, holding his breath and saying the word “zu”.

2- Ye qol do qol (Spherical stones)

This game requires five stones, preferably spherical. After having thrown them on the ground, if possible close to each other, while you are sitting down, you take a stone and throw it into the air and meanwhile, with the same hand, you take another, then you catch the first one on the fly and leave it in a side. The same gesture is repeated for each of the other stones (4 times in total). In the second round, two pebbles are collected from the first and second handles, always throwing one into the air. In the third round, three pebbles are collected from the first round and the only one left on the ground in the second, and so on. At the end, the five stones are thrown into the air and must be picked up on the back of the outstretched hand. The winner is whoever manages to finish the game without making any mistakes.

3- Tileh Bazi

The small marble balls are called “Tileh” in Persian. In Iran, children not only play marbles, but also collect marbles (although today playing marbles is not so common). This game is not just about throwing marbles. One of the most popular ways to play this game is the “chaleh” , a small hole whose objective is to hit the opponent’s marbles and make them their property. But before you can hit them, you have to put your own ball in a prepared hole (chaleh). At the beginning, the players in turn, striking with the thumb or forefinger, try to get a ball into the hole. When a player is successful, he can aim his own ball at the others. If he succeeds in hitting the ball, he wins it and continues the game, otherwise the game passes to the other players. With each shot, players can advance their own ball one centimeter.

4- Alak Dolak

Players are divided into two teams and the game is started by one of them at random. The Alak (a wooden stick) is placed on two bricks on the ground called Dolak. One of the players throws the stick with force towards the members of the opposing team. If the stick is caught in the air, the pitcher will be ejected from the game, otherwise the dropped stick must be picked up and thrown into the hole (or bricks). And the player who has the Dolak in his hand, he spins it in his hand to hit the club that comes towards the hole. If it can be thrown backwards, the distance between the hole and the shaft length is calculated. Generally, this is how it is played, but there will be other rules that may vary from region to region.

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