ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Botan Doro

Botan doro is a traditional Japanese game that is played during the autumn season. In this game, people make a circle using chestnut burrs or "botan" and try to hit each other's botan with their own. The objective of the game is to break the botan of the other players while protecting your own.

To play this game, you will need a few chestnut burrs or botan. These are the prickly outer casings of chestnuts that have fallen from the trees. To prepare the botan, you need to wash and dry them, and then remove all the prickly spines.

Once the botan are ready, players sit in a circle on the ground and place their botan in front of them. The game begins with one player throwing their botan towards the centre of the circle. The other players then take turns to throw their botan, trying to hit the first player's botan.

If a player successfully hits another player's botan, they can keep throwing until they miss. When a botan is hit, the player whose botan was hit must throw their own botan towards the centre of the circle, and the other players have to try to hit their botan.

The game continues until one player's botan is broken, and that player is out of the game. The last player with an unbroken botan is the winner.

Botan doro is a fun and challenging game that requires good aim and strategy. It is a popular autumn pastime in Japan, and it is enjoyed by children and adults alike.