Dandi Biyoडन्डी बियो

The ground

Dandi biyo is played on open ground, often a khet after the rice harvest. This table plays on one khet with a low bund of grass all round it. Dug into the earth at the near end is the khopi, a short slot a few centimetres deep.

Two lines run out from the khopi, each a little to one side of straight ahead. A strike has to come down between them. Arcs at 10, 20 and 30 dandi lengths help you judge distance, and the bund stops a biyo that runs that far.

The dandi and the biyo

The dandi is a straight stick about two feet (61 cm) long. The biyo is a piece of wood about six inches long, sharpened to a point at both ends.

The dandi is also the measure: every distance in the game is counted in dandi lengths.

The toss: who strikes first

Everyone tosses at the same time, without seeing anyone else's count. Lay the biyo on the dandi and keep it bouncing: tap each time it drops back into the brass. Each bounce comes a little quicker than the last, and the biyo falls as soon as you miss one.

The most bounces strikes first, and the others follow round the table from there.

If two or more are level at the top, only they toss again. If they are still level after a third toss, the order is drawn by lot.

Fielding

Before every strike, each fielder chooses where to stand: between the lines, at least six dandi lengths from the khopi. Fielders see each other's spots, but the striker does not see any of them until the biyo is in the air.

Each fielder has a reach, shown as a ring round their spot: a lone fielder can get to a biyo coming down up to about six dandi lengths away, and a little less when there are more of you. A biyo that hangs longer in the air gives you a little more time, and a little more reach.

Striking

The biyo lies across the khopi. Tap the field to aim: the direction, between the lines, and how far, from 8 to 36 dandi lengths. You can aim while the fielders are still choosing.

Tap Lift and the dandi flicks the biyo up out of the khopi. A marker runs along the track as it rises and falls: strike while the marker is over the brass. The further you aim, the narrower the brass.

• In the brass, the strike is clean and goes very nearly where you aimed.
• A little early, while the biyo is still rising, it flies higher and pulls to the left.
• A little late, it skims lower and pushes to the right.
• Well outside the brass, it comes off the edge of the dandi: shorter, and off line.
• Not struck at all before it drops, and you are out.

A biyo that comes down outside the lines scores nothing. You are not out, but it counts as one of your five strikes.

Catches

If the biyo comes down within a fielder's ring, the fielder nearest to it goes for the catch. A catch near the middle of the ring is nearly always held; one at the very edge is held a little under half the time.

A held catch puts the striker out. A dropped one falls close by, and play goes on from there.

The throw back

Once the biyo stops, the striker lays the dandi across the khopi. The fielder nearest to the biyo picks it up and throws it from there at the dandi. If it hits the dandi, the striker is out.

The closer to the khopi the biyo stopped, the better the thrower's chance. From five dandi lengths about one throw in three hits; from thirty, about one in sixteen.

Innings and winning

An innings lasts until you are out, or until you have struck five times. Each player bats one, two or three innings, in the order set by the toss, and fields while everyone else bats.

When everyone has had all their innings, the highest total wins. Players level at the top share the win, and if everyone is level the game is a draw.

Where these rules come from

Every village plays dandi biyo its own way, and the rules the Nepal Dandi Biyo Association wrote for team matches are not what most people grew up with. This table keeps what the sources agree on and makes the choices below where they are silent:

• Bouncing the biyo on the dandi to decide who plays first, flicking it up and striking it, measuring in dandi lengths from the khopi, and the striker being out if the biyo is caught or hits the dandi: Nepali Times.
• A dandi of about two feet and a biyo of about six inches with pointed ends, the biyo laid across a hole, and a catch ending the turn: Wikipedia, Republica and Onlinekhabar.
• The dandi laid across the hole, the fielder throwing at it from where the biyo fell, and one point for every length of the stick: the same rules as gilli danda in India, as the IIT Kanpur rules describe them. Their rule that a throw falling inside the circle round the hole is also out is the second throw rule on this table.
• Only one strike in the air. Nepali Times describes striking the biyo two or three times before it lands, measured in biyo lengths and finger spans; this table counts one clean strike in dandi lengths.
• The two lines, strikes outside them scoring nothing, five strikes to an innings, one to three innings each, the reach of a fielder, and fielders choosing their spots in secret: choices made for this table so every game is fair and has a clear end.

Innings each

One innings each is a quick game. Two is the usual, and three gives a bad start time to come back.

Out by the throw

With Hit the dandi, only a throw that hits the dandi puts the striker out. With Hit it or land near, a throw that stops within one dandi length of the khopi puts the striker out too, so long strikes matter even more.