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Playable heritage game

Block printing

Also known as छपाई · Bagru and Sanganer

In Bagru and Sanganer in Rajasthan, cloth is printed by pressing carved wooden blocks dipped in dye, one impression after another, to build borders and fields of small flowers, leaves and lattices. Bagru is known for earthy vegetable dyes and mud resist; Sanganer for fine flowers on a white ground.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Block printing: photograph by Anildiggiwal
Photo: Anildiggiwal, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Block printing: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Pick a dye colour and a block shape from the tray under the cloth.
  2. Tap a square to press the block there: its twin appears at the mirrored place on the other side of the cloth.
  3. Copy the small printed cloth shown above, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • Each block is pressed in the square you tap and again in the mirrored square on the other side of the cloth.
  • A square counts only when its block shape and its dye colour both match the target.
  • Three stars need a nearly perfect copy; you can undo or clear as often as you like.

About the tradition

Hand block printing is practised in and around Bagru and Sanganer near Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. Printers, many from families who have worked the craft for generations, carve the blocks from wood and print on cotton in bright or earthy dyes.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of South Asia.

Credits

Sources

Get the app

Block printing is one of 20 paper and paint crafts in the Paper & Paint of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 20 paper and paint crafts in the app

In review on theApp StoreIn review on theGoogle Play

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