Cybereagles

If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

I dey ask for rules, you dey tell me how the game upset you. Hm, no make me vex for you o!

Scipio Africanus wrote:

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

I dey ask for rules, you dey tell me how the game upset you. Hm, no make me vex for you o!

I played well well in sec school. We played in the dorm room floors (marble/concrete?), which were naturally demarcated into perfect squares with some black plastics which we called "ebonite"... Kai...some wicked seniors acquired the ebonite from ongoing constructions, and used them to whip people

and we played with tennis balls...

Scipio Africanus wrote:

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

I dey ask for rules, you dey tell me how the game upset you. Hm, no make me vex for you o!

its 8 players and the rules are mostly implied which is why there is always fracas

jette1 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

I dey ask for rules, you dey tell me how the game upset you. Hm, no make me vex for you o!

its 8 players and the rules are mostly implied which is why there is always fracas

we played in multples of 4...4, 8 or max 12.

In Port Harcourt, we called it "ballay" .... not that there is a standard spelling, because we never had to spell it .... but when I was in Imo, they called it "udo udoj" (again, read it phonetically, as it wasn't something anyone spelled for me).

To Bigpokey (and Chief O) .... you could play it with 2, 4 or 8 people.

As I recall, in the 2- and 4-person versions you could only touch the ball once within your "court" .... and in the 8-person version, there were two persons per court, and each member of the 2-person team could touch it once, allowing an annoying strategy of one person trapping the ball, while the other took their time to wire a cannon at whichever duo they were targeting.

To Scipio .... I believe you were "out" if you kicked it out of the playing area without it bouncing, or when you conceded (maybe) 6 points by failing to prevent the ball bouncing in your court before going out .... and maybe you could get charged out if you step into someone's court without their permission. There was something about a "rotten banana" in the court, and something called "akilala" (phonetic), but me I don't recall entirely what these rule violations were.

Of course it has been decades .... sorry, I mean it has been a mere handful of years since I played (and enjoyed) this game, so don't quote me on the rules.

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

We have discussed it here in the past.

For my side it was called "Mbolo" or Ball-U.
You could play with 4 players or you could play set (with a team mate) making it 8 players in total.
The game helps you work on your touches and your deftness with ball control and one touch football.

It is one touch... but you can have multiple touches if you have one foot on the line.
Scores are kept like a lawn tennis match.
Point is scored against the person who has the last square it touched before the ball goes out.
If you play the ball without the ball touching the ground you get charged a point.
If your hand touches the ground you are out... we say "we charge you 144"
You can invite someone to your square to help give you extra touches...but only one touch for "help" is allowed.
If you come to someone's square without being invited you are out.
Sometimes teams (folks) gang up against someone and try to get them out.
Worst ball to play it with was "Felele"... best with "Our Club" or "Bladder"... even "Health" was ok.
Typically played until you have enough people to do "Choosin".
Woe betide you if you have a heavy touch...

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:and we played with tennis balls...

We used golf balls as well as tennis balls.

Rarely was this played with a full-size ball ... if you had a full size ball, you played regular football, something which was "impossible" to do with a golf ball.

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:and we played with tennis balls...

Chei, Chief O! You must be a proper JJ + Maradona with the ball.

Na felele we dey use dat time.

@ Eagle and Cellular. Das waram talking about!

U be correct guys.

Growing up in Lagos it was called ballay in Festac and Ikeja. The sweetest part is juggling the ball and quietly lay it on your opponents "court" and it hit the ground and stay there with not enough juice to bounce even once or you intensionally wire it in someone's direction hoping it hits them on the way out but that's more risky. I was a champion in that thing You can stand on the edge of your line with the person that is trying to "lay" the ball in your court so he has no where to lay it to and only has the option to "wire" it at you and then you jump Forming alliances is the keys though and its a game that often end in fights.

I thought this was called "4 post"?

KIZONZO wrote:I thought this was called "4 post"?

Yup that's what we called it... or 4 corners. Either of those

Court

Cellular wrote:

Bigpokey24 wrote:

Scipio Africanus wrote:If you no grow up for Naija, you no go sabi dis game.

I forgot some of the rules.
The game beings with 4 players inside a square marked out on the sand, and divided into 4 quadrants. The players start by kicking the ball into any quadrant they choose. I remember that if you kick the ball out of the main square without touching any quadrant, you are out of the game. If the ball touches you on the way out, you are out of the game as well. If you wan comot person for the game, you kick the ball into his quadrant (it has to bounce once) and if it subsequently leaves the main square, the person in that quadrant is out.

Players can form alliances to gang up against any one player to get them out, etc.

Abeg who sabi all the rules for dis game?

8 players not 4, that game had folks plotting coups etc.. it was very upsetting , but a very interesting game

We have discussed it here in the past.

For my side it was called "Mbolo" or Ball-U.
You could play with 4 players or you could play set (with a team mate) making it 8 players in total.
The game helps you work on your touches and your deftness with ball control and one touch football.

It is one touch... but you can have multiple touches if you have one foot on the line.
Scores are kept like a lawn tennis match.
Point is scored against the person who has the last square it touched before the ball goes out.
If you play the ball without the ball touching the ground you get charged a point.
If your hand touches the ground you are out... we say "we charge you 144"
You can invite someone to your square to help give you extra touches...but only one touch for "help" is allowed.
If you come to someone's square without being invited you are out.
Sometimes teams (folks) gang up against someone and try to get them out.
Worst ball to play it with was "Felele"... best with "Our Club" or "Bladder"... even "Health" was ok.
Typically played until you have enough people to do "Choosin".
Woe betide you if you have a heavy touch...

You just brought so many memories . We called it ball u too but remembering the "health" and how i stole either N30 or N3 from popsie -can't remember which- to buy a health ball that i couldn't take home is fresh in my memory .

niyi wrote:

KIZONZO wrote:I thought this was called "4 post"?

Yup that's what we called it... or 4 corners. Either of those

I knew the sport had different names in different parts of Nigeria .... but I was always curious as to whether the rules of the game were completely the same across the country, or if there were minor local differences.