The Planet of Forgotten Games -Sohel Rana Shefat

Have you ever wondered what happens to a game when no one plays it anymore? Where do the glass marbles go after they roll out of fashion? Where does hopscotch hide when the chalk squares vanish from playgrounds? And what about those ancient board games carved into stone, once played under flickering lamps, now gathering dust in museums?

There is a place where they all live on. Astronomers haven’t found it yet, but storytellers swear it exists—hidden behind the folds of imagination and tucked between the stars. They call it ‘The Planet of Forgotten Games’.

A World Built from Play
The first thing travelers notice is that this world does not have continents or oceans. Instead, it has game realms—vast magical landscapes shaped by the rules of play. Every forgotten game becomes a country of its own.

Imagine a meadow that stretches endlessly, covered in shining chalk lines. Here, giant numbered squares float in the air, and the children of this world hop across them like stepping-stones. The Hopscotch Plains are guarded by chalk-spirits who sing riddles; if you answer wrong, the square beneath your feet vanishes, and you must leap to safety.

Beyond the plains lies the Valley of Marbles. It glitters like a rainbow, for the ground is made of polished glass spheres. Rivers of giant marbles roll slowly through the valley, humming as they bump against each other. If you listen closely, each marble carries a memory of a child who once played with it. At night, they glow with soft light, like lanterns leading wanderers home.

The Board Game Kingdoms
Further north rise the Board Game Mountains. Their peaks are giant dice, forever tumbling, reshaping the valleys below. The forests here are not made of trees but of pawns, rooks, and checkered tiles. You might stumble into the Chesswood Forest, where black and white knights gallop between square-shaped clearings. Or you may wander into the Snakes and Ladders Hills, where ladders stretch into the clouds and serpents slither like rivers of color down the cliffs.

Some explorers speak of the Labyrinth of Ludo, where the paths twist endlessly, and every roll of the dice changes the roads ahead. The guardians of this labyrinth are four ancient tokens—red, green, yellow, and blue—forever racing each other yet never reaching the end.

The Forgotten Ones
Not all realms are cheerful. Some games are too old, too broken, or too strange even for children to remember. These form the Shadow Arcade, a twilight land where the rules have been lost. Here, the games wander aimlessly, looking for someone to play them again. A deck of cards missing its kings mutters sadly in the wind. A set of dominoes lies scattered, unable to stand. It is said that if you rescue a shadowed game and play it once, it will regain its color and return to the brighter realms.

The Gamekeepers
Who rules this planet? Not kings or queens, but the Gamekeepers—mysterious figures who wear cloaks stitched from puzzle pieces and carry staffs tipped with spinning tops. Their job is to guard the balance between games, so that none is forgotten forever. They record every new visitor’s favorite childhood game in a great book of play.

The Gamekeepers say that when Earth children stop playing a game, its spirit drifts upward like a balloon and lands gently on this planet. That’s why the world keeps growing, adding new valleys, forests, and skies of play.

Why You Might Visit
The Planet of Forgotten Games is not just a museum. It is alive, waiting for players. The games miss us, and they are happiest when someone remembers them. A traveler may ride a marble river, race down a ladder, or duel in a hopscotch riddle. But there is a rule every visitor must follow: you cannot stay forever. The games only borrow your laughter; then they send you home, carrying a seed of wonder in your pocket.

A Reminder for Earth
Perhaps the strangest truth of all is this: if you start playing a forgotten game again here on Earth—if you chalk a hopscotch grid, flick a marble, or set up an old board game—the realm of that game on the faraway planet begins to shine brighter. The games grow stronger through memory.

Think, if you pass by a dusty board, a jar of old marbles, or a chalk stick resting on a shelf, think twice before ignoring it. That simple toy might just be the key to keeping an entire magical world alive.

And who knows? Someday, you might find yourself drifting in a dream, landing on a world where laughter is law, and forgotten games wait for you with open arms.