Watching these children play a simple game with such passion and joy, one can't help but wonder why they never complain about how Dhaka has nothing to entertain us with. But remember the simple times when we didn't rely on a city for entertainment and relied on our own games? And that too without having to spend thousands of taka.

Entertainment can be attained on the cheap, if one really wants it. You don't have to go to a restaurant with friends or your children to have a good time. With a little effort, you could have your entertainment on the cheap right in the heart of your living room, your roof or if you are lucky, your very own garden. Now, games like “kana macchi bhoubhou” or “borof-paani” involve a lot of running. Such physical exertions are frowned upon by adults, not because they are lazy but rather because they have a hernia disc just waiting to slip.

Thankfully, there are plenty of options which do not necessarily risk any injury. One that comes instantly to mind is “Charades”. Charades is a game where you make at least two teams consisting of a minimum of two members. One team chooses a movie and says the name to one member of the opposition team who will then have to act out the name of the movie, without uttering a single word. Right guesses win points and you can customise the rules as you go along. The game really helps break the ice and loosens up even the stiffest of individuals. A similarly simple game is Pictionary, which involves drawing pictures to explain whatever object or name is given.

For a little physical exercise though, there's always hopscotch. Hopscotch “is a popular playground game in which players toss a small object into numbered spaces of a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces to retrieve the object”, Schoolyards and neighbourhood playgrounds, even the streets, used to be dotted with chalked outlines of the remnants of such games. Another very popular game is “Antaakshari”. A highly popular tv show back in the 90s, the game involves singing a song and then letting the opposition sing another song starting with the last alphabet of the last word from the last song sung. So if a song ends in “ekla cholo re”, the opposition must sing a song starting with “r”. This way, points are amassed and the game can go on for hours. If singing isn't your thing, you can play the Word game.

You start off with an alphabet and the person next to you follows with another alphabet. The idea is to make a full word and whoever says the last letter of the word, loses. So, say the game starts with “a”, the next person says “c” and you say “t”, then you lose,if someone says STOP. To make things difficult, you can remove things like “ed” and “ing” and stick to one tense. However, going back to the previous example, say you didn't want to end with “act” but where rather going for “actually” then you say “t-continued”. If someone can't make the word or thinks you are drawing the game out instead of having a word in mind, they can challenge you and if you fail to mention a word, you lose. This game is educational and fun and can be played with plenty of people.

There are plenty of such games that one can play to take their mind off things. Board games have also made indoor fun more feasible. The classic marbles game is still being played, although the middle class and above have kind of moved away from it, burdened by the fantastical games their gadgets can present to them. Another game receding into the memory but still very much fun to play is the skipping stone. Angle and throw a flat rock on a water body and done right it will actually bounce off and to the other side. This is game requires serious skills but if you pull it off, the feeling of satisfaction is immense. Seeing a solid thing just bounce across water is magic and many of us were dazzled the first time we saw such a display.

Playing these games, you will eventually reach the conclusion that there is actually plenty of fun things you can do in the comfort if your own home. These games, which foster a ton of communication, also help solidify relations and make the entire group stronger. There are the sore losers, of course, but they only add to make the games even more fun. If you are feeling a little freaky, try playing “Cards Against Humanity”. Whatever you do, make sure you try these out one day at least and see how you feel about whether entertainment can really come cheap.





Models: Linda and Jui



Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed



Make-up: Farzana Shakil's Makeover Salon



Wardrobe: Deshal



Styling: Isha Yeasmin