Tokkudu Billa facts for kids

Tokkudu Billa is a super fun game, a bit like Hopscotch, that girls in villages in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India love to play! It's also known as Kunte Bille in Karnataka. Players hop around on a special grid drawn on the ground, using a small coin or stone. This exciting outdoor game helps kids stay active and have fun together. While new games are popular today, traditional games like Tokkudu Billa are still a big part of culture.

What's the Goal of Tokkudu Billa?

The main goal of Tokkudu Billa is to win as many squares as you can on the grid. You do this by hopping through the squares and using a coin or small stone. The player who captures the most squares by the end of the game wins!

A game of Tokkudu Billa in progress.

How to Play Tokkudu Billa: Step-by-Step Guide

Playing Tokkudu Billa involves a few different stages. Each stage helps you try to win a square.

Phase 1: Mastering the Coin Toss and Hops

This first part teaches you the basic moves for playing Tokkudu Billa.

• Stand outside the drawn grid.
• Throw your coin or stone into square number 8.
• Start hopping from square 1. Hop through each square until you reach square 7.
• While still hopping in square 7, lean down and pick up the coin from square 8.
• Throw the coin out of the grid. Don't throw it too far!
• Now, hop over the spot where the coin was and jump out of the grid.
• Next, throw your coin into square 7.
• Hop from square 1 all the way to square 6.
• While hopping in square 6, pick up the coin from square 7.
• Hop over square 7, directly from square 6 into square 8, then hop out of the grid.
• You'll repeat these steps. Each time, you'll throw the coin into a new square: first 6, then 3, then 2, and finally 1.

Phase 2: Hopping with the Coin in Hand

This phase adds a new challenge: carrying the coin.

• Place the coin flat in your open palm.
• Start hopping from square 1 and continue all the way to square 8.
• Once you've hopped through all the squares, throw the coin out of the grid.
• Hop over the spot where the coin was and jump out of the grid.
• Now, turn your hand over so the coin is on the back of your palm.
• Repeat the same hopping and throwing steps as before.

Phase 3: Winning Your Own Square

This is where you get to claim a square as your own!

• Ask the other players if they choose "Kaya" (which means raw fruit) or "Pandu" (which means ripe fruit).
• If they say "Kaya," sit down with your back facing the grid. Then, throw the coin into the grid.
• If they say "Pandu," stand up with your back facing the grid. Then, throw the coin into the grid.
• Now, hop into the square that is right next to the square where your coin landed.
• Pick up your coin.
• Draw a big "X" mark in that square. This "X" means you have captured that square! You can now rest both your feet in your captured squares.

Important Rules for Playing

• You can rest both your feet in squares 4 and 5.
• You can also rest both feet in any squares you have already captured.
• Always hop over the square where the coin is placed. Never step on it!
• Other players follow the same rules, but they are not allowed to land on any squares that you have already marked with an "X."

When You Lose a Turn

Sometimes, you might lose your turn in the game. If this happens, you have to wait for the next round to play again.

You lose a turn if:

• Your coin lands on any of the lines of the grid.
• Your coin lands in a square that has already been marked with an "X."
• Your coin lands completely outside the grid.
• You accidentally step on the square where the coin is placed.
• You land on a square that another player has already marked with an "X."