Throwback Thursday: When Life Was Just Games and Laughter

…When Games Made Us Legends

Do you remember when all we needed for happiness was an empty street, chalk, a few friends and wild imaginations? Childhood in the 90s and 2000s was pure gold. Thursdays like this take us back to the games that filled our days with laughter, bruised knees, and memories we’ll never forget. Life was simple, joy was cheap, and our biggest competition was who could last longest in a street game before mummy’s voice dragged us back inside.

We played After Round One, hiding numbers behind our backs with suspense and ending with playful slaps, chanting “after round one, original Panadol extra otungbede o” like it was the national anthem. Misway had us hopping one-legged through chalk-drawn boxes, praying not to touch the line. Ten-Ten tested our reflexes with synchronized stomps, while Ayo Olopon sharpened our minds as we moved those wooden seeds. And who remembers Ti iya re ba sebe—the math-meets-cheating game that still made sense somehow?

Family time was nothing without the chaos of Whot!—“Pick Two!” echoing across the room. In school, chants of I Buy Mary, he too stubborn, form a big circle like your mother’s cooking pot led straight to the drama of Omo Oba ka geshin lo, where someone always blushed when their crush was picked. Streets rang with Boju Boju o… Oloro nbo o… as we disappeared into the most impossible hiding spots, and afternoons were saved by stinging palms in Tinko Tinko. Even lighthearted games like Mention Mention, I Call On and Name Place Animal Thing bonded us, testing our speed and creativity.

Saturdays weren’t complete without football “set”—sometimes with a plastic ball, sometimes socks tied together, and other times oranges when the ball mysteriously vanished. As the sun set, hide and seek transformed into full-blown Mission Impossible missions, with kids hiding inside cupboards or behind car bonnets like trained spies. School added its own spice—bottle-top soccer on desks, rubber band wars, or paper football flicked across classroom tables. And for those lucky enough, evenings meant trips to the neighborhood game shop, where Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Winning Eleven ruled and mastering the “pressing pad” was an Olympic sport.

The list of fun never ends—Who Is in the Garden, Orisa mi kekere, Chair Dance, epic skipping rope marathons, and the unbeatable rush of street catcher under the evening breeze. Those games weren’t just about winning—they were about friendship, strategy, resilience, and the kind of laughter that made us forget time.

Looking back, we realize happiness didn’t come from screens. It came from dusty playgrounds, sweaty brows and games that turned every child into a legend in their own right.

Throwback Mantra: Happiness didn’t come from screens—it came from the games that made us dream.piness didn’t come from screens, it came from the games that made us dream.