Upai — one of the ancient games of the Kyrgyz people played with alchiks.
For the game, 16—20 basyms (sets) of alchiks are taken, i.e., 48—60 pieces. One set consists of 3 alchiks. It is preferable that the alchiks are of the same size, even, without defects or damages.
One alchik is designated as the "khan." To distinguish the "khan" from the rest, a larger alchik is usually taken and painted in a bright color.
The game is played by two players or 2 teams with a small number of players (3—4).
Players sit in a circle on a flat surface, dark cloth, or mat. The starting player takes all the alchiks in their joined hands, placing the "khan" in the center, and scatters them on the mat. The first strike is made by the player on the "khan." If they hit the target, they continue the game; if they miss, the next player takes their turn. Strikes are made with alchiks that are the same in position, i.e., taa can hit taa, aikur can hit aikur, etc.
A player who violates this condition loses their turn. The alchik being struck is called "ok" (bullet), and the alchik being hit is called "kiyik" (game). The strike is made only with one finger, most often the index finger. After starting the game and knocking out the "khan," the player holds it in their free hand or places it separately (it is not allowed to place the "khan" and alchiks in one pile — this results in losing the turn). Now they need to knock out three alchiks in a row. The player must knock out the alchik with their right hand. Moreover, the knocked-out alchiks are collected in the same hand. They can only transfer them to the other hand after knocking out all three alchiks. In this way, they must collect half of all the alchiks. Then the "khan" is considered won. Otherwise, both the "khan" and the alchiks return to the stake. Hitting twice in a row with the same "ok" is not allowed, but hitting it as if it were a "kiyik" is not prohibited.
A player loses the right to strike if: the "ok" touches another alchik after the strike, they mistakenly take an "ok" instead of a "kiyik" after hitting, they touch another alchik with something, they strike an alchik that is not tightly placed, the "ok" lies on the "kiyik" they hit, or any of their partners touch the alchiks they have won. Consulting with partners is prohibited. If the losing team collects at least one basym of alchiks, the game can continue. Then the other team lays out the same number of alchiks, and the game continues. The team that knocked out the "khan" starts the game.
