Sellam

සෙල්ලම්

Seven games from Sri Lanka for iPhone and iPad, drawn in 3D. Four are the island’s own games. Three are set in it: the market, the kottu griddle and the lacquer lathe.

Coming soon to the App Store as Sellam: Games of Sri Lanka. Needs iOS 18 or later. Made by lk41.

The shelf
Carrom
Pancha keliya
Olinda keliya
Elle
Pettah
Kottu
Laksha

The island’s own games

Played at home and at New Year, and set out here the way the island plays them.

Carrom

කැරම්கேரம்

A cue sport played with your finger.

How you play: Drag back from the striker and let go. Drag the striker itself to slide it along the base line.
The game: A break: clear the board in as few shots as you can. The queen must be covered, and a pocketed striker costs a man.
The board: A 74 cm bed with 4.45 cm pockets, nine black men, nine white and the red queen, cut to the tournament laws.
Your score: The number of shots it takes to clear the board. Your best break is kept on your phone.

Play the board on our home page

Pancha keliya

පංච කෙළියபஞ்ச கெளிய

The race that only comes out at New Year.

How you play: Tap the husk to throw the shells. Your pieces move themselves, and the far side plays back.
The game: You in red against the far side in black. A one or a five frees a piece. Take a piece by stopping on it or passing over it, never on a crossed square. Three pieces to the apex wins.
The board: Thirteen cells to a side, twelve crossed safe squares, three pieces a side, and six cowrie shells thrown onto a coconut husk.
Where it comes from: The race game of Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, named for the five points you can score with a throw.

Olinda keliya

ඔලිඳ කෙළියஒலிந்த கெளிய

Fifty-six seeds, fourteen cups, no luck at all.

How you play: Tap one of the seven cups nearest you to sow it.
The game: Sow anticlockwise past your own store, never theirs. A last seed in a full cup lifts it and goes on. In your store, go again. In an empty cup, take the next cup along.

Elle

එල්ලේஎல்லே

Bat, ball and three posts on a field.

How you play: Tap when the ball is over the mat to swing. While running, tap to stop at the post you have reached.
The game: One innings of three outs against a target. Three balls to hit one. A catch is out, and so is a throw to the post ahead of you. A full circuit is a run.

Set on the island

Three new games made from the island’s streets, kitchens and workshops.

Pettah

පිටකොටුවபெட்டா

A hole opens in the market. Swallow the street.

How you play: Drag to steer the hole. Anything that fits goes in, and the hole grows with every meal.
The game: Ninety seconds. Anything narrower than the hole drops in and widens it. Coconuts first, shophouses last.

Kottu

කොත්තුகொத்து

Two blades, one griddle, and a rhythm the whole street knows.

How you play: Tap when a beat reaches the blade. Every chop on the beat cuts the roti finer.
The game: Three rounds at rising tempo. Beats run along the griddle’s edge to the blade. Stars for chops on the beat.

Laksha

ලාක්ෂාஅரக்கு

Lay lacquer on a turning post, band by band.

How you play: Pick a colour, then drag along the post to lay a band. Finish the piece and it is polished.
The game: Three pieces to copy and one of your own. The score is how much of the master’s piece you matched.

The how-to-play guide for carrom, open over the board

Every game comes with a guide

Tap the book in the corner of any game. The guide is written for someone who has never seen the game played, and for someone who grew up with it.

Where the game comes from, and when it is played.
What you need to play it for real, with the measurements.
How a turn goes, step by step, and how the game ends.
The words a Sri Lankan player would use, and what they mean.

How it’s made

Nothing is a picture

Every board face, wood grain, cowrie and seed is drawn when a game opens, and every piece is turned or built in code. That is why a game takes a moment to open the first time.

Sinhala in the same letters

Titles are set in Gemunu Libre and text in Yaldevi. Both draw Sinhala, so each game’s own name sits beside the English in the same face.

The colours of lacquerwork

Black, lac red, orpiment yellow and pacca green: the bands a craftsman lays on a turned post, and the only colours in the app.

Help and privacy

Get help

Tell us what you were playing, what happened, and the model of your iPhone or iPad. Every message is read.

Write to us

Which devices does it run on?: Any iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or later. The games are drawn in 3D, which is why older versions are not supported.
How do I learn the rules?: Open a game and tap the book in the top corner.
Where are my best scores kept?: On your device and nowhere else. There is no account and nothing to sign in to.
There is no sound.: Sellam follows the silent switch. Turn the ringer on to hear the kottu blades and the carrom men.
A game feels slow to open.: Every board and piece is drawn when the game opens rather than downloaded, so the first open takes a moment.

Sellam collects nothing

The app does not collect, store, share or sell any information about you.

No account, sign-in or registration.
No analytics, crash reporting or tracking of any kind.
No advertising and no in-app purchases.
No network requests. Every game, texture and font is inside the app.
No access to your contacts, photos, location, camera or microphone.

Your best score in each game is saved on your iPhone or iPad and never leaves it. Deleting the app deletes it. If a future version ever collects anything, this page will say what and why before that version is released.