Stories and facts

Before smartphones became our everyday companions and video games filled our leisure time, growing up in Ghana offered a completely different kind of adventure.

It was a time marked by carefree laughter on dusty playgrounds, lively chants that echoed through schoolyards, and games that required nothing more than our imagination, quick feet, and a handful of stones, sticks, or bottle caps. These games became the building blocks of our childhood and shaped the people we would become.

Childhood in Ghana was filled with moments of joy and creativity. We knew the excitement of playing ampe, the thoughtful challenge of oware, and the rush of being the first to shout pilolo during a spirited search.

These weren’t just games. They were our earliest lessons in life. They taught us how to be graceful in victory and resilient in defeat. They brought us closer together, showing us the value of community, friendship, and empathy.

Ampe stood out as one of the most beloved games. This energetic mix of clapping and jumping, often played by girls, lit up break times with laughter and rhythm.

Occasionally, boys joined in too. With just a loud clap and quick footwork, the game offered lessons in quick thinking, coordination, and confidence, especially when classmates gathered around to watch.

Pilolo turned ordinary sticks into hidden treasures. One person would sneak off to hide the stick while others turned away.

As soon as the signal was given, everyone would scatter in search, hoping to be the first to discover it and shout “Pilolo!” at the top of their lungs. It was a thrilling game, but also a lesson in observation, patience, and determination.

Oware, one of Ghana’s most iconic traditional games, was passed down through generations. Played with seeds, stones, or small pebbles, and arranged in carved wooden boards or holes dug in the ground, oware offered quiet moments of strategy and calculation.

It encouraged patience and mental agility, and often served as a bridge between generations as children sat across from elders, learning both the rules of the game and valuable life lessons.

Other games like alikoto, where bottle caps spun in sand pits, taught us control and finesse. Chaskele, a street version of baseball using a stick and a crushed can, sharpened our reflexes and tested our aim.

Even pushing old car tires or rims with a stick brought immense joy, challenging our balance, focus, and stamina as we raced down the street barefoot and full of energy.

Skipping rope came with its own rhythm and group chants. Whether playing solo or with friends, it required skill and timing, and brought cheers from those watching.

Games like dame and antakye called for strategic thinking and sharpened our decision-making in ways we barely noticed at the time.

All of these games gave us more than entertainment. They offered lessons no classroom could fully provide. Through them, we learned how to lead, how to share, and how to be courageous. We discovered how to celebrate others, wait our turn, and support each other in moments of loss or victory.

Today, many of these games are fading into memory. The sounds of children playing in the streets have quieted, replaced by the glow of television screens and mobile phones.

Yet if we pause for a moment, we can still recall the playful chants, the patter of bare feet on hot earth, and the joy that filled our neighborhoods.

These childhood games were not just pastimes. They were a part of who we are. They helped shape our values, our creativity, and our sense of community.

In remembering them, we reconnect with a time of innocence, simplicity, and deep-rooted cultural pride.

To look back on them is not simply to feel nostalgia. It is to recognize and honor the ways these simple games prepared us for life.

They were gifts, and their legacy lives on in the hearts of those who once played under Ghana’s bright sun.

Explore the rich traditions at the heart of Akan culture below.