Ludo game; something fun but waste of time

Once upon a time, our houses were warm with the presence of guests, but gone are those days that we were getting together and sharing our stories and enjoying moments of togetherness.

Those unforgettable days, we were sitting under the sunlight to listen to stories of our elders. Those sweetly narrated stories that we often lost ourselves into it and hours were felt like minutes passing quickly without realization. Though, time has changed now and technology has replaced those moments with new digital and Smartphone activities.

In recent years, when the Smartphones are widely used, the trends have changed from moments of camaraderie with friends in cafés for tea and listening to their stories to modern way of socializing through various digital platforms and social media apps.

Games such as Candy Crush, Virtual Driving Competitions, Online Soccer Games, and Ludo King  or Ludo games have millions of users across the world in all ages.

The Ludo, among other games, has attracted many users for competition over the ‘crown of the kingdom’. It is a classic game that used to be played on boards. I used to play Ludo when I was a third-grade student. However, the current game is played very differently. Now, it is often played on the Smartphone, and even one could play it online. Though, the important factor is the addiction to the game, you can start to play and dive into it playing for hours without realizing that you lost so many hours in it.

Qudrat is one of the youths who occasionally plays Ludo, but does not like to get addicted to the game. He told me about his experience of the game and his worry is that the game kills all your time without you realize it. He said that one evening one of his friends called him and invited him to his house to play Ludo with some other friends who were all invited.

Qudrat said that the bad part of it is that when you play game you are so deeply focused on the game that you can’t even talk to friends. According to him, this can be a factor for being very isolated in the meantime.

The side effects are that many young kids often totally cut off with their daily routine lives and get addicted to playing such games. Parvin, a teacher at a girl’s school in Kabul said that previously one could say that such games will create interference in life, but now it feels like that life can create interference in playing Ludo and other games.

Parvin said that although cell phones are not allowed at schools, however, some girls have been caught with Smartphone and playing Ludo during their classes.

On the other hand, some people think that although Ludo kills your time but it is a great fund to play and pass time.

Hassan, who spent his three years in a refugee camp in Indonesia said that he spent half of these times playing Ludo. He said it saved him from a great deal of depression and anxiety due to harsh environment of life for immigrants trying to flee to Austria and other countries, but stuck in the refugee camps in Indonesia.

Wahab is another young person who loves to play Ludo. Wahab said it is a fun game to play though one should be cautious not to get addicted to it. He is a government employee and said most of the people in his department play Ludo while at their job, though, making excuses of lunch break, meetings, or that their system is down.

Mustafa, a resident of Kabul said that excessive play of this game could be dangerous. He said he has lost a lot of money betting on this game and have spent many nights playing the game without sleeping.

In the game of Ludo, the “die” plays a decisive role; however, the players can’t control the “die” number. After a player rolls an initial six to activate a pawn into play, that player will roll the die a second time to move the pawn. Players take turns in a clockwise order; highest throw of the die starts. Each throw, the player decides which piece to move. A piece simply moves in a clockwise direction around the track given by the number thrown. If no piece can legally move according to the number thrown, play passes to the next player.

Some residents said that since most often you cannot get a six when you roll the die and cannot move your pawn, you get so angry and frustrated.

Although, recreational activities and games are good things especially for the residents of Afghanistan who are always witnessing violence and tragic incidents of war and explosions, but these games have positive impact as long as they don't become the main goal of life for them.

ENDS