ASportIndependent states
Assyk games
An ancient game played with sheep knucklebones, UNESCO heritage since 2017.
An assyk is a small bone from a sheep's knee joint. Players line the bones up, aim their own "saka" at them and win the opponent's assyks — a game also known in Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
Assyk games teach children precision, patience, counting and friendship. In Kazakh families the best assyks were dyed red and handed down the generations.
UNESCO inscribed Kazakh traditional Assyk games in 2017. Kazakhstan now holds assyk-throwing competitions, and the game features in the World Nomad Games.
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Updated: October 2, 2026