World Games
The traditional games of chance and oracles of world cultures, gathered and playable online.
Every civilisation has invented its own ways of consulting chance — to play, to share or to question the future. Long before plastic dice and apps, people read fate in shells, sticks or figures drawn in the sand. This category gathers these traditional games, often little known, and makes them accessible to everyone.
Cast the shells of the cowrie game, a divinatory oracle from West Africa, or its cousin the Sig game; come down the Japanese ladder-lottery of amidakuji; or decipher the figures of ilm al-raml, the geomancy of the Arab world. Each carries centuries of history and a singular way of letting chance speak.
These traditions belong to a long history, traced by our pillar page on the history of games of chance. And if you prefer to explore by geographic origin, our index of games by country and continent sorts the whole catalogue by region of the world.
The 5 games in this category
Amidakuji Play Amidakuji online, the traditional Japanese ladder lottery! Draw lots in a fun, fair and transparent way with friends or colleagues. 
Ilm al-Raml Discover Ilm al-Raml, the ancestral sand geomancy practised in the Maghreb. 16 divinatory figures generated randomly. Free and no sign-up required! 
Cowrie Shells Throw the virtual cowrie shells and discover the ancestral oracle of West Africa! Free online traditional Yoruba divination game. 
Sig Game Play Sig, the ancestral stick-dice game of the Sahara and the Maghreb! 4 wooden sticks, 5 combinations and a board traced in sand. Free! Jeu d'Osselets Lancez les osselets (astragales) en ligne gratuitement ! Le jeu de hasard antique aux quatre faces 1, 3, 4, 6 : réalisez le fameux coup de Vénus.