Playing Method

Round 1

1. Each player keeps a marker. The first player starts playing, and the other players will observe the play.
2. The active player stands outside the grid near Circle 1 and throws the marker inside the first circle. The marker should land inside the designated circle without bouncing or sliding out of the boundary. If it lands on the wrong circle or on the boundary lines, then the player is out and passes the play to the next player.
3. While the marker lands inside Circle 1, the player hops through the court starting behind Circle 1, but jumps over the Circle 1 (the one with the marker) for the first step, and proceeds through the series jumping one circle at a time, without stepping on any line. If the player steps on a line or outside it, then they are out.
4. Players can choose to start with either foot but cannot land both feet on the single circle. When landing on two adjacent circles, they must land on one foot in each circle—the left foot in the left circle and the right foot in the right circle. As shown in the figure, Fig 3.2, in Circles 4-5 and 7-8, land with both feet.
5. When the player reaches the end of the series (Circles 7 and 8), they must turn around at once with a jump and start hopping back on one foot, in reverse order. When they reach Circle 2 (right before Circle 1, which has the marker), they must pause, lean down, standing on one foot still, and pick the marker up. Then, they must skip over Circle 1 and finish up the series.
6. If successful, the player’s turn continues, and he or she now attempts to toss the marker to the next circle, Circle 2, and repeats the course till all the eight circles are completed.

As the distance to each circle increases, it becomes increasingly harder to throw the marker inside it. So, the last few segments generally take more tries to capture, while the slower players get a chance to catch up.

This game is played at leisure, usually without time limits, for recreation. It is not considered a highly competitive sport, though there are winners and losers. The fun quotient is high, and so is the level of physical effort.

Round 2

1. Active players place the marker on the palm and keep the palm open and facing up.
2. Then they hop, starting from Circles 1 to 8, and pause in the home circle (ninth circle).
3. From the home circle, the players toss the marker ahead outside the series, in the direction they were proceeding. Then they jump on the marker from the home, with one foot and pause.
4. These steps are repeated with the coin on the inverted palm.

Round 3

After finishing round 2, the active players will stand with the marker outside the series near the home circle, facing away from the series. Now they proceed to round 3.

1. The Active player asks other players to choose kaaya or pazhalama, meaning the position of sitting or standing.
   1. If the other players (any one or collectively) shout ‘kaaya’, the player sits down in the home circle (Circle 9). Facing away from the series and without looking at it, the player throws the marker over the head to aim at one of the circles.

Note: The decision to select kaaya or pazhalama is not strategic to winning points. Hence, a suggestion by any player is usually accepted by the other players. However, if there is a conflict, a vote can be taken, or a coin can be tossed.

1. If the other players select pazhalama, then active players stand facing away from the series and throw the marker behind them, over the head and without looking, aiming at one of the circles.
2. Active players draw a cross in the circle in which the marker has landed. Then they pick up the marker and hop out of the series (ending near Circle 1). This success indicates that the player has captured that circle where the marker landed. In this circle, the player can land with both feet during the game from then onwards. Other players, however, while jumping through the circles, have to skip the circles which the current player owns.

2. At the end of each set of three rounds, the player can capture any one of the circles in the series. All the players will go through all the three rounds again to capture the remaining circle. They can rest both feet in adjacent circles and in the circles that they have captured. Each player has to complete all the three rounds again to capture another circle.

Hence, after every set of three rounds, the players make the game more challenging for others by taking away the freedom to land in the circles they have captured. At the same time, it is easier for the players who own more segments as they can land with both feet.

Rules

1. The player who finishes the whole series first will be the winner of the first round.
2. The players who are out can restart play in the next turn from where they last left off (even the next day if there is no time left).
3. The winner of the third round is the player who captures the most circles and draws a cross in them to own them. The game may continue for a few sessions on different days to complete round 3.
4. For a short duration of play, you can set a stopwatch for each player and play only the first round. The player who targets the most circles in the set time is the winner.
5. A player loses turn at any stage, if
   1. While hopping through the course in either direction, the player steps on a line, hops on the wrong circle, skips a circle or goes out of the circle.
   2. He lands on a circle with a cross in it that has been captured by the other players (after the third round).
   3. The marker falls on or outside the grid lines of the grid or slips off the palm in the second round.
   4. The marker falls out of the series while tossing it from the home section in round 3.