Water is a necessity for all living creatures. The world’s major towns and cities of today, as well as the ancient kingdoms and empires of the past, were established near water bodies. In some ways, this makes water the real backbone of all civilizations.
The Tiriki community from Western Kenya observed the way that imbalavali (water insects) were drawn to this life source from every direction in a similar way that human beings are. From this simple observation, they coined a simple but challenging abstract strategy board game called shisima. The name itself hails from the Tiriki language and means source of water.
Set Up and Rules
To play, shisima required a board constructed in an octagonal design. Four straight lines were then drawn to join one corner to the one directly opposite, intersecting at the center of the board to signify the water source.
Shisima was a two-player game; each player received three imbalavali represented by stones or beads. A player would use beads painted a different colour from their opponent’s.
To start the game, the beads were arranged on three consecutive corners of the octagon’s perimeter, leaving two empty corners separating the opponents’ beads. The mid-point where the lines intersect was also vacant.
Players took turns moving their beads along the straight edges or straight lines to adjacent vacant spots on the board. The first player with three of their beads in a straight line won the game.
Beyond being a pastime for the Tiriki, shisima was also a way of improving memory and cognitive skills and teaching critical thinking and problem-solving.
Shisima in a modern-day setting
Shisima is reminiscent of tic-tac-toe or three-in-a-row. It exists in different variants in communities around the world.
The game itself is not difficult to recreate and can be done using a manilla paper for the board itself and two sets of coloured beads for the imbalavali. Once these items are at hand, it’s time to play shisima!
Have you played shisima before, or perhaps a different variation of the same? Let us know how many times you won or lost to your opponent!
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