Two Children Playing Alikoto – The African Spinning Top Game. Also Known as Alugoto.
Source: Universal merchant Bank Facebook Post
Game of Choice: Alikoto
Alikoto is a traditional African game played with handmade objects and usually between two children. The main object of the game is constructed using cover of a BIC pen, the protective lid on a D-sized battery (usually the Tiger Head brand) and sometimes the ball-point of the pen. For the this writing we will refer to the final artifact created from the combination of objects as “Alikoto” (same as the name of the game). The game is usually played on the floor and requires at least two players.
Top Left: Tiger battery with blue protective cap, Top Right: BIC Pen. Blue cover and ball-point used for the game, Bottom Center: Alikoto
Actions: Players spin the Alikoto and try to manipulate it so that it spins longer than that of the opponent and eventually lands flat on its head/base.
Goals: The goal is to keep your Alikoto spinning longer than your opponent’s and successfully make it land flat.
Rules:
- Players spin their Alikoto and wait to see whose falls first.
- The player whose Alikoto falls/stops first loses that round.
- In some version of the game, the losing player stretches out their hand for the winner to spin the next round on their hand or receives a game-friendly hit on the hand.
Objects: The main object is the “Alikoto”.
Playspace: The game is traditionally played on a sandy surface, although it can also be played on other suitable flat surfaces.
Players: At least two players competing against each other.
Swapped Games: Alikoto and Table Soccer
I would swap the goal of Alikoto with the goal of the african traditional table soccer.
Table Soccer. Source: Instagram
In Alikoto, the objective is to keep the alikoto spinning and successfully have it land flat, while in table soccer the objective is to score by getting the ball into the opponent’s goal.
If I brought the table-soccer goal into Alikoto, the objective could become trying to use the spinning Alikoto to hit a target or enter a designated goal area. This would change the game from being mainly about timing, control and keeping the alikoto spinning into a game that also requires aiming and positioning. One interesting approach would be for the target to be the other player’s spining alikoto from a quarter of a meter range which adds a bit of randomness, since the target is now a moving object.
The players would have to think about where they spin or strike the Alikoto, rather than focusing only on how long it remains spinning. This would create a different space of possibility because the player’s actions would now be influenced by the location of the target.
Childhood Game and Possibility Space: Super Mario
As a child, I played Super Mario. Looking back at it now from the lens of a game designer, the player’s possibilities are determined by:
- the Mario character’s abilities
- level design
- objects, obstacles and enemies, which I would group together as playspace.
- the rules
- eat one mushroom and grow taller,
- eat two mushrooms and be able to shoot fireballs at enemies e.t.c
- the player’s goal of progressing through the level.
Super Mario Possibility Space – Rough Sketch
For example:
When Mario encounters an enemy, it can :
- Jump over it
- Jump on it
- Avoid it
- Use a fireball to attack
When Mario encounters a gap, it can:
- Jump across it
- Use an available ability or power-up
- Fall and lose a life
When Mario encounters an item, it can:
- Collect it
- Ignore it
When Mario reaches an obstacle, it can:
- Jump over it
- Move around it
- Interact with it if the game allows
These possibilities are a lot, but not unlimited. They are constrained by the level design, Mario’s available abilities, the game’s rules, the objects in the environment and the player’s goal.
Observed Game: Chess & Musical Chair
Musical Chairs Game In Progress. Source: Tiktok
Musical chairs is a classic party game where players walk around a circle of chairs and try to sit down when the music stops abruptly. Those that get a seat move to the next round. Number of available chairs to sit reduces each round until there is only on seat left. The person who get to sit on that when the music stops wins the game.
A simplified definition of Chess from wikipedia states:
“Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a grid of 64 alternating squares where each player tries to trap the opponent’s king.”
I would compare chess as the turn-based game with musical chairs as the real-time game.
Turn-based game: Chess
In chess, the game state changes after each player’s turn. A simple game-state log could look like this:
Simple Chess Game State Changes
Each move changes the position of the pieces and therefore changes the possible actions available to the next player. The space of possibility is constantly changing as the board changes.
Real-time game: Musical Chairs
For musical chairs, the game state changes continuously while the music is playing and then changes suddenly when the music stops. Unlike chess, there are no individual turns in musical chairs. Players act simultaneously while the game is running. The music, number of chairs, position of the players and the stopping of the music all affect the possible actions available to the players.
Flow Chart Showing Musical Chairs Game States. Source: Drawn with GPT 5
The two games therefore demonstrate different kinds of game states. Chess changes in discrete steps after each player’s action, while musical chairs changes continuously in real time and can change suddenly when the music stops.
