Attention all children who love games! You know, in some countries, not everyone is lucky enough to have toys, so it’s not uncommon for your friends to redouble their ingenuity to create their own games. In this article, Toombow Kids takes you to discover Ngama, a 100% Cameroonian game deciphered by Poupina, a 7 year old boy from Cameroon!
Toombow Kids : Hello Poupina ! Today, for once, you are going to be the master. First, who is playing Ngama?
Poupina: Hello. Yes, I’m the master! Ha ha ! Yes, there are many children like me who play the game. A lot of girls and also boys. There are also older kids who play it sometimes. It’s easy and you can do it by yourself or in pairs.
Toombow Kids: Okay, what do you need to play it?
Poupina: Just some rocks! Little ones are best.
Toombow Kids: What is the goal of the game?
Poupina: The goal when you play alone is to score the most sép. A sép means “season” and it’s like a goal. When you play against a friend, you have to be the first one to score the number of sép that you have agreed upon.
Toombow Kids: Sounds interesting. How do you play it?
Poupina: You have to sit on the floor, spread your legs and put 7 stones side by side between your legs. You choose one of the pebbles, throw it in the air and you have to catch it after taking one of the six pebbles on the ground in your hand. If the stone you threw falls to the ground or you catch it without having managed to pick a up another stone, you lose. If you play with two players, it is then the other player’s turn. The more you succeed, the more complicated the rules are. For example, the last step is very difficult! You have to throw the seventh pebble in the air twice and catch it after having picked up the other six pebbles at once. I’m happy, I’ve already done it!
Toombow Kids: Bravo! It’s really a fun game that requires concentration!
Poupina: Oh yes! And it teaches us to count. We often show the game to three year old kids so that they can learn to add up the numbers and all the combinations to find the number 6.
Toombow Kids: So that’s your secret to being little math geniuses! Thank you Poupina for teaching us how to play Ngama. See you soon on Toombow Kids!