Who remembers the ‘Bloody Mary’ game that took over school kids in the 90s? Well lately it seems another such fad, ‘The Charlie Charlie Challenge’, has taken over various schools and social media platforms across the nation and its growing popularity has even led to schools enforcing strict rules against it for their students’ welfare.
Two pencils and a piece of paper are needed to play the game. Players place one pencil across the other on the paper to form a grid of four sections.
According to a report in the nation’s leading newspaper, Gulf News, schools in the UAE have banned the Charlie Charlie Challenge for its supposed psychological effects. The game is an adoption of the Spanish game, Juego de la Lapicera, and involves kids using the pencils and paper saying Yes or No in each section to summon and seek answers from an ancient “supernatural entity” named “Charlie”. Although schools are yet to make official statements, the report quotes various teachers voicing their opinions regarding the game.
“In some parts of the world this game has been associated with witchcraft and calling of spirits and demons to answer questions. Even if these can’t be verified, it’s best avoided,” said a teacher at an Indian school in Sharjah while on the other hand a parent of a fifth grader says “The issue was brought up at a parent teacher meet. My daughter is so hooked she wants to play it with us. I don’t know what the big fuss is about. It’s such a harmless game.”
Moreover, alarmed by the increase in numbers of children playing the game, the Ajman Community Police and Ajman Educational Council had to hold classroom demonstrations to educate children against the myths associated with the game. Well here’s the spoiler, the trick is no Spanish ghost, in fact since the top pencil is so precariously balanced on a central pivot point, it can easily rotate due to the slightest breeze or even the breath of players expecting the pencil to move onto yes or no.
