Chincalhão Game | Malha Game: The Game That Brings Generations Together

TEAM COMPOSITION

Each team consists of two players, referred to as partners.

It can also be played 1 versus 1.

GAME RULES

At the start of the game, a double coin toss is conducted to determine:

a) which team will throw first;

b) at which end (head of the court) the game will begin.

The malha must be thrown through the air, with both feet firmly on the ground at the moment of release.

If, while throwing the malha, a player crosses the head line with any part of their body, they may receive a warning; in the case of repeated or serious violations, the throw will be declared null.

A throw is null and cannot be repeated if the player steps beyond the throwing line before the malha touches the ground or the meco.

A valid mecada occurs only when the meco falls and remains completely flat on the ground in a horizontal position.

The meco is also considered fallen if it leans but is fully supported by the ground—even if this results from depressions or holes created by previous malha impacts.

A mecada is not valid if the meco falls on its own due to ground irregularities while the malha is still in the air. In this case, the meco must be reset upright, and the throw is repeated.

When the malha knocks down the meco and remains in the spot where the meco originally stood, play resumes as follows:

The malha is moved back two fingers (approximately 4 cm) from the meco's original position;

The meco is reset to its original upright position.

If, on a subsequent throw, another malha lands exactly where the meco is positioned, the previous malha is moved back three fingers (approximately 6 cm). This procedure is applied successively as needed.

A malha occupying the meco's position (without having knocked it down) scores a point, provided it is closer to the meco than any of the opponents’ malhas.

Players may not retrieve or move any malhas—their own or their opponents’—after a round is completed without the referees’ permission and before the score has been officially recorded.

5. SCORING

Each match is played as the best of three games.

A game ends when one team reaches 30 points.

If a team wins the first two games (2–0), the match is considered complete, and the third game is not played.

Points awarded per round are as follows:

Meco directly knocked down by the malha (mecada): 3 points;

Malha closest to the meco (without knocking it down): 1 point;

Two malhas from the same team closest to the meco: 2 points.

Teams switch sides whenever one team reaches 15 points during a game.