Previously: Summoning The Red Man.
Judging by its appearance on rather a lot of Brazilian websites, it seems that The Compass Game, or Jogo do Compasso in Portuguese, is quite popular in that country; however, I’m not totally sure that’s where it originated. I found one source — a post from the r/Paranormal subreddit — that describes it as an Indonesian game. And there certainly does seem to be a connection between the Compass Game and the Indonesian spirit communication method known as jelangkung; the Compass Game just swaps out the dolls used in jelangkung for, well, a compass. (The kind you use to draw circles, not the kind you use to find true north.)
Jelangkung is ancient, by the way; according to Mysterious Universe, its origins lie 1,500 years in the past in a Chinese game called Cai Lan Gong. Additionally, Brilio notes that the first mention of jelangkung appeared in a manuscript from the fifth century — and, somewhat astonishingly, that the rules laid out there are the same ones that are used today.
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The Compass Game may be a little less overtly freaky than jelangkung due to the absence of dolls, but it’s functionally the same; it’s kind of like you’re making your own Ouija board and using a compass as the planchette. As such, the same warning that come with using a Ouija board or other similar communication rituals apply here: Be wary of any answers you get from it, because whatever you’re talking to… may not be what it says it is.
As always, play at your own risk.
Players:
- At least one principal.
Requirements:
- A compass.
- A writing implement.
- A sheet of paper.
- Questions. Queries. Conundrums to which you seek answers.
Instructions:
Making The Preparations:
- Fit the compass with the writing implement and use it to draw a large circle on the sheet of paper.
- Along the outer edge of the circle, write the letters of the alphabet, positioning “A” at the top.
- Along the inner edge of the circle, write the numbers zero through nine, positioning zero at the top.
- In the innermost section of the circle, write the words “YES” and “NO,” positioning “YES” at the top and “NO” at the bottom.
Making Contact:
- Form the compass into a right angle.
- Stand the compass up on its point in the middle of the circle. The arm with the writing implement should appear to be pointing to the lines of letters, numbers, and words written around the edges of the circle.
- Using one finger placed on the hinge at the top, hold the compass upright. Hold it loosely enough that the compass may swing freely around the circle.
- Ask for permission to enter the game.
- If the answer is negative or nonsensical: Do not proceed. Destroy the paper. Try again another time.
- If the answer is positive: You may proceed.
- All players who wish to participate must ask for permission to enter the game.
If a player is denied permission: That player should not proceed. Instead, they should leave the room. All other players who have been granted permission may proceed with caution.
The Conversation:
- Ask a question.
- Watch the compass arm.
- If it remains stationary: Ask a different question.
- If it swings: Pay attention to where it stops. It will tell you the answer. A second participant may write down the answers on a separate sheet of paper with a different writing implement than the one used in the compass.
- You may continue to ask questions for as long as answers are forthcoming.
- When answers become slow, disconnected, or nonsensical, or if they cease entirely, proceed to The Farewell.
The Farewell:
- Ask permission to leave the game. When permission has been granted, you may exit.
- Thank the spirit for their time. (It’s only polite.)
- Destroy the sheet of paper.
Additional Notes:
Do not make jokes while playing the game.
Do not ask if you are speaking to a good spirit or a bad one.
Do not ask the spirit to prove it is there.
Do not play this game on a regular basis.
Do not follow any unsolicited orders the compass gives you.
Do not invite the spirit to enter your body.
Concerning The Compass:
Only the player holding the compass may ask questions.
Players may trade control of the compass; to do so, the player taking control of the compass should position their finger at the hinge of the compass while the player relinquishing control removes their own finger from the hinge. DO NOT let the compass drop during the trade-off.
If the compass drops, destroy the sheet of paper immediately, remove the writing implement from the compass, and evacuate the premises. Do not return to the premises until you have buried the writing implement and the compass in two different locations as far away from each other as possible.
Concerning The Spirit:
Don’t trust it too easily.
It might not be what you think it is.
***
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***
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[Photo via vivekrajkanhangad/Flickr, available under a CC-BY-2.0 Creative Commons license.]
How peculiar. I’m Indonesian but I’ve never heard of the compass game until, well, right now.
I’m from Brazil in it’s so cool to see a game that I’ve played a lot in my childhood in this site.
I’ve just one small comment to make, based on the way I learned to play it. Instead of placing your finger in the hinge of the compass, I usually played holding a pen cap positioned between my fingers and the top of the compass, but not making pressure on the compass, which would be hanging kinda loose with its top inside de pen cap. This it would be harder to fake the movement of the compass. I don’t know if I made myself clear but I hope so. Keep up the great work!
That’s a great pointer. Thanks!
1 Can we try this anytime? Like afternoon?
2 Can a person be present in the room who is not playing the game?
3 How will we understand if the answer is positive, nonsensical or negative?
1. If there are written times, it’s best advised to follow it. Would you like it if your teacher called you to do homework you weren’t assigned at school?
2. You should ask permission to listen, after all, eavesdropping is quite rude.
3. Positive answers are usually “yes” or some synonym. Negative is almost always “no” but could be “danger” “bad” or most definitely a very negative response: making patterns or spelling a well-known demon name like ZOZO. A nonsensical answer would probably be pointing to random letters and numbers, or not staying on yes/no or switching between the two, which may also be a red-flag pattern
So basically its like the Ouija board?
I’m Indonesia and I never heard of this compass game, either now or during my school days. I do know about Jelangkung though. So your suggestion that it originates from Brazil is strong.
Can you ask questions regarding the future?
Can you just rip the paper into pieces?
I’ve read every single game, and I’d say reading these games scare you enough for you not to play them. One question, how often do you post games Ms. Lucia?
We always publish new content on Mondays and Wednesdays; games specifically are posted every other Wednesday.
I am really glad that I found this website. I am really loving the stories and the games that are posted here.
So glad you’re enjoying it!
How should you destroy the paper? Burn it or just rip it into pieces?
When you destroy something, you alter its form so that it is either completely diminished or unusable. So either one of those methods is adequate. 🙂
Should the place where you play the game be your house? Or should you find another location just in case you have abort the ritual if something goes wrong?
When it comes to rituals where whatever it is you’re conjuring is potentially malevolent, it’s usually common sense to perform things of the such in a place you don’t typically care about, or a place you don’t mind not ever being capable of returning to should something go terribly wrong. It doesn’t say that you won’t ever be capable of returning back to the premises in which you performed the ritual however. I’m assuming it would be alright to perform this in your house so long as you bury the compass and the writing implement far, far away from each other should the compass ever drop during the ritual.
I’ve heard before that when people do things that have to do with ghosts, such as make movies or write books, especially if it’s based on a true story, they often experience hauntings. Is this the case with you?
By the way, I just discovered this website, and I LOVE your posts! I love how concise you are and the research you put into this!
Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying the site!
As for your question, this will probably answer it: https://theghostinmymachine.com/2017/10/23/a-ghost-story-a-true-one-halloween-2017/
Wow new one!
If someone does not want to ask any questions and just wish to stay in the room (quietly) and check what happens… is it ok if they don’t ask for permission and just sits in a corner without interfering?
According to the rules you must leave only if you are denied permission after asking, but says nothing about not asking at all.
You should probably get permission to listen. After all, eavesdropping is quite rude
Ohhh! So spooky.
Wow, I used to play this game a lot while I was at school! Since it’s not common to find Ouija boards in Brazil, this is a way to “play with the spirits”.
I believe it’s popular in Brazil because of the influence of Allan Kardec’s spiritism and the presence of the African-american religions in Brazilian society.
With these question games, do you already, deep down, know the answer?