Korea Traditional Games - Paengichigi

Paengichigi (파엔기치기) is a game where players try to knock over the other person’s spinning top. The person who has the spinning top still running is the winner. First you take the spinner in your hands and let it drop to the ground. Then you take a whip to strike the spinning top so that it continues to spin. I love playing this game on ice. When the spinner is put on ice, it spins way more rapidly than the floor. It’s a challenge to play on ice because you have to concentrate on the spinning top and yet make sure not to slip on the ice as well.

Toma Todo

Toma Todo

Toma Todo is a traditional Mexican game that has been played by children and grown-ups throughout Mexico for generations. This hand-crafted is a wood six sided Mexican toy. The six-sided top is called a Pirinola. Instructions are provided in each side.

'Toma Todo' means take it all in Spanish and that is exactly what you need to do - take the jackpot! It can be played by two or more players. This game does not need any skills, it simply depends on your luck. It can also be a good practice with Spanish verbs "tomar" and "poner", especially with children.

Here's what each side means:

Todos ponen - everyone places a coin
Pon 1 - place one
Pon 2 - place two
Toma 1 - take one
Toma 2 - take two
Toma Todo - you win the jackpot!!! 

To Start: Each person should have ten chips or counters. Each player puts two chips in the center, called the "pot."

To Play: Take turns spinning the Pirinola once each. When it comes to rest, read aloud the instructions on the highest part of the top. The player may be told to take one or two or all the chips from the pot. Or the player may have to put one or two chips into the pot. "Todos Ponen" means that every player places two chips into the pot. When only one or two chips remain in the pot, every player places two chips into the pot.

To Finish: Decide before you start how many rounds you will play. A player who does not have enough chips to play drops out of the game. The winner is the person with the most chips at the end of the game.

 You can also make your own Toma Todo by printing or drawing it on a cardboard. Poke a hole at the centre and stuff it with a pencil, so that, you can spin it as well.

Chinese Yo-Yo

The bamboo “empty bell” is described in Records of Scenes at the Capital from the Ming dynasty (1386-1644 A.D.):

“The two ends are round saucer shapes. In the middle is a horizontal piece of wood. Mount it on a string and twirl with a vibrating motion. It emits a humming sound.”

This was a game played by boys and girls in the spring, “when the willow leaves turns green.” It became particularly popular in the North. There is even a poem about it.

Cut bamboo in the shape of a hip drum.
Pull both ends of the string slowly, gently!
When the wind blows, it spins like rushing water.
In the mountain temples, the sound of bells can be heard.

This describes the single-bell form, which looks like a top with a handle. The double-bell looks like two wheels on an axle.



Children playing with the Chinese yo-yo at the 1997 Chinese Summer Festival.

Pull-bells also differ in the sounds they make. The pitch is determined by the number of holes in the pull-bell. The size and thickness also affect the sound. The large diameter of “vibrating bells” produces a “wong-wong” sound. Bells with small sound holes are called “echo-bells.”

Expert players can do tricks like “A Wild Goose Lands on the Flat Beach” and “The Golden Cicada Casts off Its Shell.” As you might expect, “Rise Upward to the Blue Clouds” involves tossing the ball a yard or more into the air.