Nostalgia 2: Seven Stones 七粒石

     Being a girl, this is one of the games I liked and played the most as a kid.

     How to play? It's simple!       

Tiny rice-filled sacks made of colourful rags.

     But first, you need to get yourself a set of 7 stones. During the impoverished era, we don't have the luxury of making rice-filled sacks like what they did for Batu Seremban now; so we do we get our stones? 

     Well, we normally get it from the roadsides, personally, my favourite spot would be a place where a house is in construction, with sands and tiny rocks piling up at the site. Sometimes, I can spent hours picking and choosing the tiny rocks of my preference! (Tips: the rocks must not be too big nor too tiny, best to be roundish in shape)

     Now, we are ready to play!

     1.  Throwing
         * Throw the 7 stones on the floor;   
         * make sure the gap between the stones are not too wide, or else it would be difficult to pick it up later;
       * For those who enjoy challenges, they would purposely throw the stones with wider gaps; during the catching process, they will then pick up the stones by swiping across the gap. If they succeed, they will be cherished by their playmates.

     2. First Catch

        * Throw 1 stone into the air, quickly pick up 1 stone from the floor and catch the first stone that being thrown into the air earlier.

     3. Second Catch

       * Then, throw another stone into the air, this time to quickly grab 2 stones from the floor before catching the stone in the air.      

     4. Last catch
       * 1 stone is thrown into the air, but to quickly pick up the remaining 3 stones from the floor before catching the stone in the air again.

     5. Flipping

       * Once the throwing and catching are completed, hold all the 7 stones in your palm, then flip your palm so the stones are now on the back of your hand;

       * when you do this, not all stones will stay as some might fell off)

     6.  Dan （担） - to count the points gained
       * Then comes the trickiest part, now you have to throw the stones directly from the back of your hand into the air and quickly catch it, the numbers of stones to be caught must be even i.e. 2,4,6. Each of the even numbers of stones caught is consider your points, 2 stones equal to 1 Dan, 4 stones equal to 2 Dan and 6 stones equal to 3 Dan;

       * if you think this is easy, then you might want to think again. More than often, you might end up catching an odd number which gains you nothing at all!


     7. The player with most points WINS!

     This game is being labeled as "girlish" as it's more popular among the girls, however, there are also some boys who enjoyed the game too!

     Back then, almost every kid has their own set of stones and they normally don't share their stones.

     Due to frequent practices and playing, the stones which were once rough and thorny can be easily polished up to be roundish and shiny in no time!

     Sometimes, I wonder, instead of swiping their fingers on the iPad, isn't it nicer for the kids nowadays to swipe the 7 stones from the floor?

     Is it my wishful thinking, or will it be a reality as retro is slowly emerging into our lives again now?

     Ough, I should have kept my set of 7 stones from my childhood!