On a visit to Odisha last year, I was fascinated to hear from a local about a game played on a six- pointed star. The six-pointed star has long been a well-known design element in numerous places across India. From the traditional kolams of South India to geometric designs in architecture and textiles, there have been many aesthetic references to the six-pointed star.
However, when looked at from a traditional game perspective, the more popular grid is the five-pointed star. Played in numerous places from Tamil Nadu in the south to Rajasthan in the north, this single player game called Panch Kone or Nakshatra Vilayattu, has fascinated people for generations. The board can be found etched on the floor of temples and monuments.
Although etchings of the six-pointed star are seen, they are usually dismissed as designs and not given serious consideration as games. So, when I heard about a game on this board, I was intrigued. The game, according to the local, was played by two players, each with five game pieces. The pieces were placed on the board, and each player tried to destroy the other player by jumping over and killing the opponent’s game piece.
This was a quick and simple game — easy to understand, quick to learn, and fun to play. But the local could not remember a name for the game which was not altogether surprising as the creativity related to games in India was usually limited to the game itself and rarely extended to the naming of the games. At first glance, these grids, like many others, appear as designs — grids, lines, and patterns that we recognise as decorative or ornamental. They feel familiar, almost like something we have always seen on floors, walls, textiles, or objects. But if we dig deep enough and look, we realise that some of these were once games.
They were spaces of movement, where hands placed pieces, where minds planned and guessed, where players sat across from each other in quiet concentration or bursts of laughter. Over time, the play faded. The rules are no longer spoken. The game is no longer remembered. What remains is the pattern. Stripped of its stories, the grid survives as design, often admired for its symmetry, repeated for its beauty, but disconnected from the play it once held. And yet, if we pause and look closely, the game is still there — waiting to be noticed, to be understood, to be played again.
There are many floor etchings we find in India — some are known game grids. Some look like design elements and perhaps some were just that. But if we talk to people, understand the games they played, perhaps we can reclaim some of our lost games and preserve them for future generations.