I’ve always wondered what it’s like for children these days who fantasise on owning an iPad of their own to play games. Sure, it can be entertaining at times, but for the years that i’ve actually played the games myself, i’ve never really had nostalgic moments and talk to my friends on last year’s exciting game. With kids becoming so intact with their iPad or handheld games, what sort of memories can they talk about in like 10 years time?

I’ve had the privilege of actually experiencing both the traditional and technological games. Looking back, I honestly missed the classic games I used to play as a child. Growing up in Jakarta, the game I played the most with my friends and relatives is Petak Umpet/Hide and Seek. Everyone who lives in planet Earth would obviously be familiar with how the game is played. Basically, at least 2 people would go hide while 1 person would count to an agreed number with eyes closed, facing a wall and seek when finish counting. And then there are other games that you can play with your friends like Bola Bekel, where you have to slightly throw a rubber ball as high as your head whilst trying to adopt five Bekel pieces without failing or the chances would be given to your opponents.

In school i’d also grown accustomed to deciding what games to play during recess, playing Benteng-bentengan was then a very popular and what I feel is a very competitive game. With this game, a number of kids would be divided into two groups and each person from the group has to take captive of their opponents by touching them. At other times, I also remember playing Engklek where a number of squares will be drawn using chalk on the ground, and we have to jump on each box to compete for the most jumped boxes. 

These childhood games run deep on my memories even after years of not playing them. It makes me wonder if these kinds of memories exist on kids of the present day. There are so much more traditional childhood games that I remember playing, and I wish it can still be played more often in the present day.

References:

http://warungkopipasuruan.blogspot.com/2012/02/permainan-tempo-doeloe-dolanan-djaman.html