Baisakhi Games, Punjabi Style: 8 Games for a Vaisakhi Party
The best Baisakhi games for a Punjabi family party are the old courtyard games, like pithu, kikli and rassa kashi, followed by sitting games once everyone is tired. Baisakhi already has the dhol, the food and the good clothes. What it rarely has is a plan for the hours after lunch, when the bhangra has worn out the adults and the children are still running. A printable set of party games fills that second half with no work on the day.
Below are eight games in the order I would run them, four for the garden and four for the living room. If you want one game with nothing to carry at all, a free film title generator for charades is enough.
What games are played on Baisakhi?
Baisakhi games are mostly traditional Punjabi outdoor games, played in teams, with singing and dancing games for the evening.
Baisakhi, also spelled Vaisakhi, falls in the middle of April. It marks the wheat harvest, the Punjabi new year and, for Sikhs, the founding of the Khalsa in 1699.
Most families spend the morning at the gurdwara. The games belong to the afternoon, after the langar or the lunch at home.
The old games suit the day because they were made for a harvest fair. They need open ground, a crowd and nothing from a shop.
Which Punjabi games can you play outside on Baisakhi?
Four Punjabi games work outside on Baisakhi: rassa kashi, pithu, kokla chhapaki and kikli.
All four are older than anyone at the party, so a grandparent can referee without reading any rules.
1. Rassa kashi (tug of war)
Rassa kashi is tug of war, with two teams pulling one thick rope across a line.
Mark the line with a dupatta on the grass. Play best of three and swap ends after each pull. Mix the ages on both teams. I would open with this one, because it needs no explaining and everybody ends up on a team.
2. Pithu
Pithu is a team game where one side knocks down a stack of seven flat stones with a ball and then tries to rebuild it.
The other side throws the ball at the builders, and anyone the ball touches is out. Use a soft ball and aim below the knee. Seven flat stones are hard to find in a garden. Seven steel katoris stack just as well and make a better noise.
3. Kokla chhapaki
Kokla chhapaki is a circle game where one player walks behind the seated group and quietly drops a knotted cloth behind someone.
Nobody in the circle may look back. The player who finds the cloth picks it up and chases the dropper around the circle to the empty spot. It is the game for the under-tens, and for any adult who can still sit cross-legged.
4. Kikli
Kikli is a spinning game where two players cross arms, hold hands, lean back and whirl around as fast as they can.
It is traditionally played by girls, with a rhyme sung to keep time. Make it a contest: the pair that spins longest without letting go wins. Play it on grass, and give lunch an hour to settle first.
Which Baisakhi games work indoors?
Four games work indoors on Baisakhi: a boliyan face-off, Punjabi antakshari, bhangra freeze and Dumb Charades (damsharas).
Move inside when the light goes or the knees do. Push the sofas back first, because two of these four need a floor.
5. Boliyan face-off
A boliyan face-off is a contest where two teams trade boliyan, one after the other, until one side runs out.
The team that stays silent for ten seconds loses. Put the grandmothers on opposite teams. They know more boliyan than the rest of the room together, and they have waited all year to prove it.
6. Punjabi antakshari
Punjabi antakshari is antakshari with one extra rule: every song must be a Punjabi song.
Each team starts its song on the last sound of the other team's song. Folk songs, wedding songs and film songs all count. Give each team one Hindi film song as a lifeline, and set a timer for twenty minutes.
7. Bhangra freeze
Bhangra freeze is a dancing game where everyone dances while the music plays and freezes the moment it stops.
Anyone who moves is out, and the last dancer standing wins. One person controls the music with their back to the room. I would bet on the children. An adult holding a bhangra pose starts laughing within seconds.
8. Dumb Charades (damsharas) with a harvest theme
Dumb Charades is a team game where one player acts out a film title without speaking.
For Baisakhi, start with Hindi films that have a Punjabi family and a mustard field in them. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Jab We Met (2007) both qualify. After those two, let a random Bollywood title for each round do the choosing, and give each actor one minute.
How do you plan Baisakhi games for a mixed-age family?
Plan Baisakhi games for a mixed-age family by picking four of the eight, two outside and two inside, and keeping the same two teams all day.
Eight is the menu, not the plan. Pick by the family you have:
- Mostly children: kokla chhapaki, pithu and bhangra freeze.
- Three generations: rassa kashi, kikli, the boliyan face-off and antakshari.
- A home with no garden: the four indoor games, plus a round of guessing films from one famous line for anyone who refuses to dance.
Name the two teams after two sides of the family. Keep one running score on a sheet of paper on the fridge, where everyone can argue with it.
Baisakhi games: questions people ask
What games are played on Baisakhi?
Traditional Punjabi games are played on Baisakhi: rassa kashi, pithu, kokla chhapaki and kikli outdoors, then boliyan, antakshari and bhangra games indoors. Harvest fairs also have kabaddi, wrestling and races, which suit a fairground better than a back garden. For a family party, pick games that are played in teams and need almost no equipment.
Is it Baisakhi or Vaisakhi?
Both spellings are correct, and both names mean the same festival. Vaisakhi is closer to the Punjabi pronunciation, and Baisakhi is the form most common in Hindi. The festival falls in the middle of April and marks the wheat harvest, the Punjabi new year and the founding of the Khalsa in 1699. Every game in this list works under either name.
What Baisakhi games can kids play?
Kids can play kokla chhapaki, pithu, kikli and bhangra freeze on Baisakhi. All four are running or dancing games with one simple rule each, so a six-year-old can join after watching a single round. Use a soft ball for pithu and play kikli on grass. Put one adult on each team to keep the score and settle the arguments.
Which Baisakhi games can you play in a small home?
A boliyan face-off, Punjabi antakshari, bhangra freeze and Dumb Charades all fit in one living room. None of them needs a garden or any equipment beyond a phone for the music and the film titles. Seat the two teams facing each other and keep the middle of the floor clear for the dancers and the actors.
What prizes work for Baisakhi games?
Small edible prizes work best for Baisakhi games. A box of pinni, a jar of homemade achar or the first glass of lassi all do the job. Keep one prize for the winning team and a silly one for the team that loses. Children and grandparents play just as hard for a cheap prize as for an expensive one.
Before the dhol starts
Print six printable Bollywood games for the sitting rounds a day early, and keep the pages away from the lassi. For the charades round, pull up film titles on one phone once the rope is put away.
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