The Game of Basal Busaila

The game of Basal Busaila, also known as 'Bassil Bussila,' is one of the traditional children's games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is played in groups by children aged four to nine years. The game consists of two parts: the first part is friendly, where a specific chant is recited while the children are divided into two teams. In the second part, the two teams compete in a tug-of-war.

A group of children gathers to play the game of Basal Busaila. Two of them are chosen to be the leaders of the teams that will compete in the tug-of-war. The leaders come together and each selects a color to represent their team. To form the teams, the remaining children line up lengthwise. The leaders stand facing each other, holding each other's hands up high to create a gap through which the children pass.

The children start walking in succession between the two leaders while chanting: "Basal Basal Busaila.. on Eid day we had dinner.. we had dinner with molokhia.. and boiled meat." When they finish the chant, the leaders catch the player at whom they stop. The child is then asked to choose between the two colors previously selected by the leaders, without knowing which color belongs to which team. This process is repeated until all the children have chosen their teams based on the colors.

After forming the teams and performing the chant, a dividing line or mark is placed on the ground between the two team leaders. Everyone lines up for the tug-of-war, with the leaders facing each other while the rest of the team members support and pull from behind. Once the game begins, each team tries to pull the opposing team toward their side. The team that crosses the dividing line is considered the loser.