There are many types of Khmer folk games. Some games are played only on the daytime or night time, some are played during Khmer Lunar New Year (Choul Chhnam Themy), and some games are played indefinitely. Games that usually play only during the night time with moonlight and no need to have any festival such as Orb Tror Lach “ល្បែងឱបត្រឡាច” or Bes Ov Loeuk “ល្បែងបេះឪឡឹក” etc. This game is a fun game for girls and boys in every rural country in Cambodia.
(Pick Fruit Game) © Buddhist Institute 1964
How to play
Firstly, boys and girls reconcile and gather many people and then they set a person to be Tror Lach or Ov Loeuk and other to be the buyer and the rest to be Tror Lach or Ov Loeuk as well. All the player has to find a tree trunk or stall with the right size. When it is a convenient, the first kid among other kids that played a role as melon or watermelon to sit in the front and hug the stall and following by other kids (seated players). One child play role as the owner or seller of the melon or watermelon. He/She will stand nearby his/her melon and watermelon and other kid who is a buyer will come to bargain with him/her.
After they agree on their bargaining, the buyer is allowed to harvest the melon. Then, the buyer came to knock on the back of kids who sit in line. While knocking, the buyer was also asking that “Kjei or Tum (raw or ripe)”. The buyer asked from the beginning with an answer “raw” until the ending with an answer “ripe”, then he pulled out the last one with a strong effort and the seated players keep hug each other in tightening. The buyer collected one by one until the last and if he could not collect due to his weaker than others, they start the game again. And, the seller and buyer will change to be seated player and seated players will become a seller and buyer.
They do so until they quit. This game is an ancient Khmer game for exercise the body especially arm and leg muscle to be strong with good health.
