Ayo Olopon is a traditional game played by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The game is similar to the Oware game that is known across the Americas which was originally introduced by slaves from Africa. It also has a lot of similarity to mancalas, which is native to the Warri people of Nigeria. Ayo Olopon is also referred to as Ayo-ayo or Kalah. The game also has identical rules with Endodoi, played by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania.

This game is usually played in the evenings under trees. To the Yorubas, only a lazy man would play the game in the morning. The art of playing this game is called ‘’Ayo Tita’’ and it involves two players and spectators which usually make the game lively and interesting. A good player of the game is called ‘’Ota,’’ meaning champion while the other player or loser is called ‘’ope,’’ which means a novice.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Ayo Olopon is a game played in a carved wooden box, containing twelve holes (six holes on each side) and forty-eight Ayo seeds (four seeds in each hole). Two individuals take from the seeds to play this game, which runs anti-clockwise.