Indoor Games

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart several varieties of spin to the ball, altering its trajectory and limiting an opponent’s options to great advantage.

Billiards are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber cushions.

Bowling refers to a series of sports or leisure activities in which a player rolls or throws a bowling ball. In indoor bowls, the target is usually to knock over pins. In outdoor variations, the aim is usually to get the ball as close to a target ball as possible. The indoor version of bowling is often played on a flat wooden or other synthetic surface, while outdoor bowling the surface may be grass, gravel or a synthetic surface. The most common types of indoor bowling include ten-pin, nine-pin, candlepin, duckpin and five-pin bowling, while in outdoor bowling, bowls, pétanque and boules are popular. Today, the sport of bowling is enjoyed by 95 million people in more than 90 countries worldwide.

Sungka is a Philippine mancala game which is today also played wherever Philippine migrants are living; e.g. in Taiwan, Germany, and the USA. Like the closely related congkak it is traditionally a women’s game. Sungka was first described outside of Asia in 1894 by the American ethnologist Stewart Culin. Sungka is similar to many other Southern Asian mancala games such as naranj (Maldives), dakon (Java), congkak (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) and tchonka(Marianas). The game differs from kalah which is known in North America and Europe in being a multi-lap game. Another important difference is that the first move is executed simultaneously in sungka which is meant to balance the game. Sungka is distinguished from congkak by being played counterclockwise and also by some other minor rule differences.

Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s in Sweden. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The game is played indoors on a wooden or rubber mat floor or just a basketball court, making it a year-round sport at amateur and professional levels. There are professional leagues, such as Finland’s Salibandyliiga and Sweden’s Svenska Superligan.