Kuti Kuti is a traditional game that is well known by Singaporeans as it is a straightforward and fun game to play with friends. It is uncertain how the game got its name, but it might be attributed to the flipping action used in the game.
The earliest versions of kuti kuti pieces were simple, round, plastic discs with a limited number of colours. Kuti kuti pieces then evolved to be the brightly coloured transparent plastic shaped like objects or animals that we know today. Some common designs of the kuti kuti pieces include elephants, monkeys and birds. Here’s how to play Kuti Kuti.
What you need to play Kuti Kuti
- Kuti Kuti Pieces
- Another player
- A table
How to play Kuti Kuti
Two players start by setting their Kuti Kuti pieces on opposite ends of the table The aim of the game is to have one of the Kuti Kutis land on top of the other Kuti Kuti.
Players will take turns to nudge or flip their Kuti Kuti piece towards the opponent’s Kuti Kuti.
When one of the Kuti Kuti pieces successfully lands on top of the other Kuti Kuti, the player of the Kuti Kuti on top wins the game!
Depending on the player, this might also mean that the winning player gets to keep both Kuti Kutis. As a pack of Kuti Kuti pieces usually come with plastic tokens, players can do multiple rounds with the remaining pieces or have “Best of 5” games to see who is able to collect the most number of Kuti Kuti pieces to be declared the winner.
Variations of Kuti Kuti
Variations of the game are also played using bottle caps or eraser flags. A popular variation of the game was playing this game with country flag erasers where players would either flip or spin their erasers to victory. Read more about it here.
