On Saturday night, October 31, the Andrews Society of Indonesian Students (ASIS) hosted a game night involving Indonesian games and activities at Johnson Gym. According to event organizer and ASIS Vice President, Radja Butarbutar (junior, aviation), many of these games are usually played on August 17, Indonesia’s Independence Day. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 and quarantine, Radja and many of his friends were unable to celebrate their Independence Day the way they really wanted to, but have decided to change it up a bit and celebrate with us here on campus. Let’s learn some of the Indonesian games our ASIS club offered!
The first game is called “Balap Kelereng” which translates roughly to “marbles race.” Balap Kelereng involves three main things: a circular object called a kelereng (which is usually a marble or ping pong ball), a spoon, and a finishing line. Unlike the popular egg-and-spoon race, players must keep the spoon with the kelereng in their mouth as they run to the finish line.
The second game played was a bit more unusual, but seemingly more fun. It's called “Lomba memasukan pensil ke botol” which roughly translates to “putting a pencil into a bottle competition.” This game is played by tying a piece of rope around the player’s waist with a hanging pencil attached. Each player must set a bottle a few feet away from them. When the game begins, each player must run backwards to their bottle. Then, they must squat down and try to place the pencil in the bottle, which is quite a difficult task. The first person to get their pencil in their bottle is declared the winner.
The last game is called “Lari Pusing,” which translates roughly to “run dizzy.” This game is exactly what it sounds like—you run dizzy! Players are spun around about 15 times then sent to run towards the finishing line. It’s reminiscent of the “pin the tail on the donkey” game we used to play at birthday parties.
If you still want to play with some of ASIS’s members, don’t fear. Radja says that he plans to have another ASIS Game Night sometime in the foreseeable future.
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