Sports of India
Asia
Originating in India
Sports whose history and codification began here.
Aadu Puli Aattam
From India
South Indian hunt game — one player commands 3 tigers, the other 15 goats. Tigers hunt, goats block.
Andar Bahar
From India
Simple Indian card-guessing casino game — dealer draws a 'joker' card, then alternately places cards on two piles (Andar = inside, Bahar = outside); winner is whichever side gets a matching-rank card first. Players bet on Andar or Bahar.
Badminton
From India
The fastest racket sport in the world — hit a feathered shuttlecock over a 1.55 m net using a light racket; win by driving the shuttle to the floor of your opponent's court.
Carrom
From India
South Asian tabletop disc game — flick a striker with your finger to pocket carrom-men into corner nets.
Chaturanga
From India
The Indian ancestor of every modern chess variant — four divisions of the army, king and counsellor at the centre.
Chaupar
From India
Ancestral Indian cross-and-circle game — the classy elder cousin of Pachisi and Ludo, played with long dice.
Chess
From India
A two-player strategy game on an 8×8 board — checkmate the enemy king before your own falls.
Chuk-Guru
From India
Traditional Meitei game — dislodge seven wooden discs from a raised bamboo pole using a small target disc.
Gilli Danda
From India
Ancient South Asian street sport. 2 sticks: DANDA (longer stick 60cm) + GILLI (smaller tapered stick 10cm). Player strikes GILLI's tapered end to launch it airborne, then hits it far. Precursor to cricket + baseball. Documented 2500+ years ago. Traditional rural Indian game; declining as urbanization limits open space.
Insuknawr
From India
Traditional Mizo strength contest — two men push each other with an 8 ft bamboo rod inside a small circle.
Kabaddi
From India
A high-tempo South Asian contact sport in which a solo 'raider' crosses into enemy territory to tag defenders and return home — all in a single breath.
Kalaripayattu
From India
Kerala's ancient martial art — kicks, weapons and pressure-point strikes trained in a mud-floored kalari.
Kancha
From India
Traditional South Asian marbles game. Popular children's game across INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH. Small glass or clay marbles (~1.5cm) flicked from thumb + forefinger to strike target marbles. Multiple game variants: Ring game, Hole game, Tapping game. Ancient game; declining but nostalgic cultural staple.
Kho Kho
From India
Traditional Indian tag sport in which one team of 9 chasers try to tag runners from the opposing team on a rectangular field, using seated relay-style handoffs and directional running.
Kite Fighting
From India
Cut your opponent's kite from the sky — flyers use manja line coated with crushed glass to slice enemy strings.
Lagori
From India
Indian street game — knock down a stack of seven stones with a ball, then race to rebuild it while dodging thrown balls.
Ludo
From India
Beloved family race game — 2-4 players race 4 tokens each around cross-shaped board from home to center goal. Derived from ancient Indian PACHISI (~6th c). British 'Ludo' patented 1896; global adaptations: Parcheesi (USA), Parchís (Spain), Mensch ärgere Dich nicht (Germany), Ludo King mobile app (2016) reignited global craze during COVID-19.
Mallakhamb
From India
Traditional Indian sport combining gymnastics + yoga + wrestling on a WOODEN POLE (Mallakhamb pole), ROPE (Rope Mallakhamb), or HANGING POLE. Practiced primarily by wrestlers as training. Documented 12th century (Manasollasa text). Declared 'National Sport of India' by some states; increasing global recognition. Athletes perform aerial poses + acrobatics.
Pachisi
From India
Ancient Indian cross-and-circle race game — the direct ancestor of Ludo and Parcheesi.
Pallanguzhi
From India
Tamil mancala — a two-row 7-pit wooden board played with cowrie shells or seeds.
Pehlwani
From India
Traditional Indian and Pakistani wrestling on a clay pit — pin any part of an opponent's back to win.
Sagol Kangjei
From India
The ancient Manipuri ancestor of modern polo — seven-a-side, played on the small Manipuri pony.
Silambam
From India
Ancient Tamil weapons art centred on a flexible 1.5 m bamboo staff.
Snakes and Ladders
From India
Universal children's board game — 2-4 players race tokens from square 1 to 100 by rolling dice; ladders shortcut up, snakes drop you down. Originally ancient Indian MOKSHA PATAM (~2nd c BC) with SPIRITUAL/KARMA themes teaching virtue vs vice. British Victorian adaptation 1892; Milton Bradley 'Chutes and Ladders' 1943.
Snooker
From India
Cue sport played on a 12×6 ft green baize table with 15 red balls, 6 coloured balls, and 1 white cue ball — pot reds and colours in strict alternation to score, break of 147 is the maximum.
Teen Patti
From India
Popular Indian gambling card game descended from the British 'Three Card Brag,' in which 3 cards are dealt to each of 3-7 players who bet blind or seen on the highest hand ranking (Trail > Pure Sequence > Sequence > Colour > Pair > High Card).
Tent Pegging
From India
Cavalry heritage sport — spear a small wooden peg from the ground with a lance while galloping at 40 km/h.
Thoda
From India
Himachali archery-and-dance festival — two hillside villages fire blunted arrows at each other's shins while dancing.
Throwball
From India
Volleyball-like sport where the ball is caught and thrown across the net instead of hit — huge in Indian schools.
Vallam Kali
From India
Kerala's giant snake-boat race — up to 140 oarsmen row 30-metre chundan vallam boats to drum, song and roar.
Yubi Lakpi
From India
Manipuri seven-a-side rugby played with an oiled coconut instead of a ball — carry it across the opposing line to score.
Widely played in India
Archery
From United Kingdom
Precision sport of shooting arrows at a target from a set distance — competitive events include recurve (Olympic), compound, barebow, and field archery.
Arm Wrestling
From Ancient / global
Combat sport where two opponents grip hands across a table and attempt to force each other's hand down to a touchpad — decided in seconds through explosive strength, technique (top-roll, hook, press), leverage, and grip endurance.
Backgammon
From Iraq
A 5,000-year-old race game — roll two dice and bear off all 15 checkers before your opponent, using the doubling cube to raise the stakes.
Basketball
From United States
A five-a-side team sport in which players score by throwing an inflated ball through a 10-foot-high hoop.
Battleship
From United States
Two-player naval guessing game — each player secretly places a fleet of ships on a 10×10 grid and takes turns calling coordinates to sink the opponent's fleet; first to sink all opponent's ships wins.
Bodyboarding
From United States
Surf sport riding waves on a small rectangular foam board (~1m long) in prone (lying) or drop-knee position; uses fins for propulsion. Easier entry than surfing but capable of dramatic aerial tricks + heavy-wave riding (Pipeline, Teahupoo, Nazaré).
Bodybuilding
From Germany
Aesthetic sport where athletes build extreme muscle size, definition, and symmetry through years of training + diet, then pose on stage to be judged on muscularity, conditioning, symmetry, and presentation.
Bridge
From United States
The world's premier partnership card game — bid to a contract with your partner, then take enough tricks to make it.
Bulls and Cows
From United Kingdom
Two-player code-breaking guessing game (or single-player vs computer) — one player picks a secret 4-digit number with unique digits; the other guesses, receiving 'Bulls' (correct digit + position) and 'Cows' (correct digit, wrong position) feedback until deducing the secret code.
Buzkashi
From Afghanistan
Central Asia's national horseback sport — riders battle to pick up a goat (or calf) carcass and carry it into a scoring circle.
Capoeira
From Brazil
An Afro-Brazilian art that blends martial technique, acrobatics, dance and music — practised in a circle (roda) to the beat of the berimbau.
Capture the Flag
From Global (uncertain)
Traditional outdoor team game where two teams each guard a flag in their territory + try to capture the opponent's flag and bring it back — combines strategy, sneaking, tagging, and jailbreaks.
Charades
From France
Classic party game in which players silently act out words, phrases, or titles for their team to guess — with strict rules against speaking, sound-making, or drawing.
Cluedo
From United Kingdom
Deduction murder-mystery board game (3-6 players) — players move through a mansion's rooms, make suggestions about who committed the murder (which suspect, weapon, room), gathering clues by elimination until confident enough to make a final accusation.
Connect Four
From United States
Two-player vertical strategy game — players drop colored discs into a 7-column × 6-row grid, aiming to be first to connect four of their color in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally).
Crazy Eights
From United States
Classic shedding card game (ancestor of UNO) — players discard cards matching top card by suit or rank; eights are wild + let player change suit. First to empty hand wins. Simple, fast, universal children's + family game worldwide.
Cricket
From United Kingdom
A bat-and-ball team sport where two teams take turns batting and fielding, scoring runs by running between wickets or hitting boundaries.
Crossword Puzzle
From United States
Word puzzle where solvers fill grid with words based on clues — horizontal (Across) + vertical (Down) intersecting words. Invented by Arthur Wynne (British-American), published NY World Dec 21, 1913. Global staple: NYT Crossword launched 1942 (Sat/Sun 21×21, weekday 15×15); The Guardian cryptic; American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) since 1978.
Dominoes
From China
Classic tile-matching game played across cultures worldwide with rectangular tiles divided by a line, each half showing 0-6 (or higher) pips; goal is typically to be first to play all tiles or reach a target score.
Dungeons & Dragons
From United States
Foundational tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) — a Dungeon Master narrates adventures for 3-7 players, who create characters and roll polyhedral dice (d4/d6/d8/d10/d12/d20) to resolve actions in a shared fantasy world.
Field Hockey
From United Kingdom
Eleven-a-side stick-and-ball team sport played on artificial turf — flick, push and hit a hard ball into a caged goal using a J-shaped stick.
Football
From United Kingdom
The world's most popular team sport — two sides of eleven aim to score more goals than the opponent using any part of the body except the arms and hands.
Freestyle Wrestling
From United States
Olympic wrestling style that allows attacks on both the upper and lower body — takedowns, throws, exposure and pins score points across two 3-minute periods.
Gin Rummy
From United States
Fast 2-player card game invented in 1909 in New York — race to form sets (3-4 same rank) and runs (3+ same suit consecutive) in your 10-card hand, then 'knock' when unmatched cards total 10 or fewer, or shout 'Gin!' with all matched.
Golf
From United Kingdom
Individual precision sport played on an 18-hole course — hit a small ball from a tee into a series of cups using the fewest possible strokes.
Hide and Seek
From GLOBAL
Universal children's game in which one player counts while others hide, then searches for them — with 'home base' safe-tag rules that vary by region.
Hopscotch
From Italy
Ancient children's game found across world cultures in which players toss a marker (stone/beanbag) into numbered squares chalked on the ground, then hop through the pattern without stepping on lines or the marker.
Horse Racing (Thoroughbred)
From United Kingdom
Ancient equestrian sport — thoroughbred horses race over flat courses (dirt, turf, synthetic) with jockeys, wagering, and championship classics. Modern thoroughbred breeding since 1700s England (Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian, Byerley Turk). Iconic races: Kentucky Derby (1875), Epsom Derby (1780), Melbourne Cup (1861), Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Hot Air Ballooning
From France
Aviation sport using large fabric envelope filled with hot air (heated by propane burner) for lift. Modern hot air balloon first flown November 21, 1783 by Montgolfier brothers (France). Iconic sport in Albuquerque NM (Balloon Fiesta since 1972; world's largest annual balloon event; 500+ balloons). FAI Ballooning World Championships.
Javelin Throw
From Greece
Ancient athletics throwing event — athletes sprint down 30m runway + hurl a 2.6-2.7m spear-like javelin (800 g men / 600 g women) with maximum distance + accuracy from behind the arc line.
Karate
From Japan
Okinawan striking art of empty-handed punches, kicks, elbows and knees — contested as forms (kata) and sparring (kumite).
Karting
From United States
Open-wheel motorsport with small four-wheeled vehicles ('karts'). Modern karting invented 1956 by Art Ingels (California). Standard training ground for Formula 1 drivers — Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen all started karting. FIA-sanctioned World Karting Championship + amateur leagues globally.
Mancala
From Egypt
Ancient African + Middle Eastern family of 'sowing' or 'counting' board games — players scoop seeds/stones from cups and 'sow' them one-by-one around the board, trying to capture opponent's pieces; oldest known board game family (~5000 years).
Marathon
From Greece
The classic 42.195-kilometre road race — the Olympic long-distance running event and the flagship event of every big-city runner festival.
Marbles
From Global (ancient)
Ancient game using small colorful glass or stone balls — players flick their 'shooter' marble at target marbles inside a ring or hole; hitting/knocking out targets wins them. Countless regional variants; global children's game with 5,000+ year history.
Minecraft
From Sweden
Sandbox video game in which players explore a procedurally-generated 3D world of textured cubes, mine resources, craft items, build structures, and survive against mobs in a variety of game modes.
Monopoly
From United States
The world's best-selling property-trading board game — buy, rent and mortgage streets until you bankrupt every opponent.
MotoGP
From United Kingdom
Premier class of motorcycle road racing — 1,000 cc four-stroke prototype bikes race on closed circuits worldwide at speeds exceeding 350 km/h.
Netball
From United Kingdom
Ball sport played predominantly by women — 7 vs 7 on a rectangular court (30.5 × 15.25m) with a raised goal ring at each end; players pass the ball (no dribbling) and only 2 specific position players can score.
Paragliding
From France
Free-flight aviation sport in which a pilot launches on foot from a hill using a flexible fabric wing (paraglider) to soar and cross-country fly using thermals and ridge lift.
Pickleball
From United States
Paddle sport on a small tennis-sized court using a perforated plastic ball and solid paddles — combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. The fastest-growing sport in the United States.
Pictionary
From United States
Classic party game in which teams take turns drawing pictures to help teammates guess a secret word within 60 seconds, racing across a board to win.
Poker
From United States
The umbrella family of betting card games — read your opponents, bet with hidden hands, and win by making the best five-card hand or by forcing everyone to fold.
Polo
From Iran
Team equestrian sport — 4 mounted players per team hit small wooden ball toward goal using long-handled mallets. Ancient origins ~600 BC Persia + Central Asia; modern rules codified 1859 by British in India (Silchar Polo Club). Field 274 × 183m — largest team sport playing field. Governed by FIP; iconic in Argentina (top players + most-decorated), UK (Cowdray Park), USA, India.
Powerlifting
From United States
Strength sport in which competitors attempt maximum single-repetition lifts in three movements — Back Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift — with sum of best lifts (Total) determining the winner.
PUBG: Battlegrounds
From South Korea
The battle royale that started the genre — 100 players parachute onto shrinking island; scavenge weapons + gear; last player/squad standing wins. Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene created it 2017 based on Battle Royale novel/film. Spawned Fortnite, Warzone, Apex Legends. PUBG Global Championship + PUBG Mobile Global.
Racquetball
From United States
Fast indoor court sport played with a stringed racquet and a hollow rubber ball on a fully-enclosed 40×20×20 ft court — every wall (including ceiling) is in play.
Risk
From France
Classic strategy board game of global military conquest for 2-6 players in which armies dice-battle across a stylized world map of 42 territories on 6 continents.
Rock Paper Scissors
From China
World's most-played hand game — 2+ players simultaneously make 1 of 3 hand shapes (Rock, Paper, or Scissors). Rock crushes Scissors; Scissors cuts Paper; Paper covers Rock. Origins in ancient China (~200 BC 'shoushiling'); modernized Japan Edo era (jan-ken); global dispute-resolution tool. World RPS Society championships since 2002; $10K+ prizes.
Rubik's Cube (Speedcubing)
From Hungary
3D combination puzzle invented by Ernő Rubik (Hungary, 1974) — 6-sided cube with 3×3×3 rotating faces of colored stickers; speedcubers solve it in under 5 seconds using memorized algorithms; WCA-sanctioned world championships since 2003.
Rummikub
From Israel
Tile-based rummy game for 2-4 players invented in 1930s Romania by Ephraim Hertzano; players race to be first to lay down all their tiles by forming sets (same number, different colours) and runs (consecutive numbers, same colour).
Rummy
From Mexico
Card-matching game where players draw and discard to form sets (three of a kind) and runs (three consecutive same-suit cards), aiming to shed all cards from hand.
Scavenger Hunts
From United States
Team/individual quest to find or complete list of items/tasks within time limit — parties, schools, corporate team-building, city-wide events. Popularized by American columnist Elsa Maxwell 1930s NYC celebrity scavenger hunts; modern variants include photo hunts, University of Chicago's 4-day 'Scav' hunt (world's largest, since 1987), CityHunt corporate events.
Scrabble
From United States
The classic word-building board game — form crossword-style words on a 15×15 grid using seven lettered tiles per rack, scoring for length, letters and premium squares.
Shogi
From Japan
Traditional Japanese chess variant played on a 9×9 board with 20 pieces per side, unique for the 'drop rule' allowing captured pieces to re-enter play under their new owner.
Shooting Sports
From Germany
Olympic precision shooting disciplines using rifles, pistols, and shotguns at stationary or moving targets — scored by proximity to bullseye (rifle/pistol) or successful clay hits (shotgun) over multiple rounds.
Solitaire
From Sweden
Single-player card game where you arrange a shuffled deck into four ascending suit-ordered foundation piles, working from a tableau of seven descending face-down columns.
Squash
From United Kingdom
Racquet sport played on a four-walled indoor court where two players alternate hitting a small rubber ball against the front wall — fast, tactical, and endurance-demanding.
Sudoku
From United States
Number-placement logic puzzle in which a 9×9 grid partly filled with digits 1-9 must be completed so every row, column, and 3×3 box contains all digits 1-9 exactly once.
Table Tennis
From United Kingdom
Fast-paced indoor racket sport played on a 9-foot table divided by a low net — hit a lightweight ball with a rubber paddle before it bounces twice.
Tag
From GLOBAL
Universal children's playground chase game in which one player is 'It' and must tag another to transfer the role — with countless regional variants (Freeze Tag, Shadow Tag, Manhunt).
Tangram
From China
Ancient Chinese dissection puzzle — 7 flat geometric pieces (tans: 5 triangles, 1 square, 1 parallelogram) arranged to form thousands of shapes. Origin ~1815 Qing Dynasty; global craze 1810s-1820s (Napoleon owned one in exile); classic educational puzzle teaching geometry.
Tennis
From United Kingdom
One-on-one (or doubles) racket sport played over a low net — win points by making the ball bounce untouchable in the opponent's court.
Tetris
From Russia
Legendary Soviet-designed puzzle game (1984) in which players rotate + place falling tetromino shapes into complete horizontal lines to clear them — one of the best-selling video games ever with 520+ million copies sold across all versions.
Texas Hold'em Poker
From United States
World's most popular poker variant — 2-10 players receive 2 hole cards + share 5 community cards. Best 5-card poker hand wins pot. Exploded globally via 2003 WSOP Chris Moneymaker win + online poker boom + televised broadcasts. WSOP Main Event $10K buy-in draws 10,000+ players; $10M+ prizes.
Ticket to Ride
From United States
Modern strategy board game for 2-5 players in which players collect train cards to claim railway routes across a map, connecting cities for points and completing hidden destination tickets.
Tower of Hanoi
From France
Mathematical disc-stacking puzzle — move stack of discs from source peg to destination peg via auxiliary peg, one disc at a time, never placing larger on smaller. Invented 1883 by French mathematician Édouard Lucas. Minimum moves = 2ⁿ−1 (7 discs = 127 moves, 8 = 255). Classic algorithm demonstration + brain teaser.
Uno
From United States
Family shedding card game with a custom 108-card deck — match colour or number, use action cards to disrupt opponents, and shout 'UNO!' when you have one card left.
Valorant
From United States
5-vs-5 tactical first-person shooter esport by Riot Games — combines CS-style bomb defusal with hero-shooter abilities (23 unique 'Agents' with signature powers), on maps designed for precise gunplay + tactical utility use.
Whist
From United Kingdom
Classic 18th-century English 4-player partnership trick-taking card game — direct ancestor of Bridge. 52 cards, 13 tricks per hand; last card determines trump; simple scoring based on tricks over 6. Historically dominant card game 1700s-1900.
Wushu
From China
Modern Chinese martial art with two competition disciplines — Taolu (choreographed forms judged on technique + artistry) and Sanda (full-contact combat with punches, kicks, throws, and takedowns) — descended from thousands of years of traditional Kung Fu.