Ayò Ọlọ́pọ́n game board is carved out of wood and contains 12 holes, six on either sides of the board. There are 48 seeds i.e., ayò, used for playing the game. Specifically, at the beginning of the game, there would be 4 seeds in each hole. Ayò is played by two players, with each assigned one side of the board (i.e., six holes in a row). The players take turns to play the game by transiting the seeds from one hole to the next, and taking possession of each other’s seeds whenever possible, based on the standard rule of the game. After several turns, a winner emerges when one player takes possession of all the other player’s seeds. Another scenario for deciding the winner is also when one player obtains more than 24 seeds (i.e., more than half of the total seeds).

As “greetings” is very customary with the Yorùbás, there is also a particular type of greeting associated with the playing of the Ayò game. While the game is going on, passers-by and spectators will often greet the players by saying “Mo ki ọ̀ta, mo ki òpè” (translated as “I greet the winning side and I greet the losing side”), “ọ̀ta” being the winner/winning player and “òpè” being the loser/losing player). Generally, winning the Ayò game involves a lot of patience and perseverance, based on the time required to think and plan the strategies for winning the game. The Yorùbá saying “onísùúrù ni í jogun ayé” (i.e., the patient one inherits the world) further buttresses this point. Therefore, playing the Ayò Ọlọ́pọ́n game not only enhances cognitive abilities but also helps to instill moral values.