Ka-Bala was a talking board

Ouija

The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...

 game

Board game

A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...

 manufactured and released by the Transogram Company in 1967. It was marketed under the slogan, "The Mysterious Game that Tells the Future

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...

."

The game was molded out of green plastic that glowed in the dark

Phosphorescence

Phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...

. It sat upon a hemispherical rocker, and was operated by the players touching the "solary projectors", which were handles on either side of the game. Unlike most talking boards which are activated by a planchette

Planchette

A planchette , from the French for "little plank", is a small, usually heart-shaped flat piece of wood that one moves around on a board to spell out messages or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. The motion is due to the...

, the Ka-Bala used a large black marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 as an indicator; the marble ran around a circular track on the surface of the game. In addition to indicating the letters and numbers printed around the track, the marble could also be used to select one of twenty-two major arcana

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...

 cards of occult tarot

Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot

Tarot reading revolves around the belief that the cards can be used to gain insight into the past, current and possible future situations of the subject , i.e. cartomancy. Some believe they are guided by a spiritual force, while others believe the cards help them tap into a collective unconscious...

 supplied with the game. Each tarot card had the fortune it predicted printed on the back. The game also had the twelve zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

 signs marked along the track; these could be used to generate a simple horoscope

Horoscope

In astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" In...

. In the centre of the rocking board, the "Eye of Zohar" was mounted; this plastic eyeball would spin as the board was agitated by the players.

The name "Ka-Bala" and the reference to Zohar

Zohar

The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...

indicate that the game was supposedly related to the kabbalistic

Kabbalah

Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

 school of Jewish mysticism. As they operated the game, the players were instructed to chant Pax, sax, sarax; hola, noa, nostra! For all its aura of arcane mystery, the game had a fundamental design flaw; it was not easy to keep the marble in its circular track as you operated the game. The Transogram company also made and sold the occult-themed glowing board game Green Ghost

Green Ghost

Green Ghost is a board game published in 1965 by the Transogram Company for up to 4 players. The board is of the 3D genre in that it features standing scenery and is designed to appear as a spooky town. The luminous plastic board is elevated on six stilts and underneath are three boxes, covered by...

.

External links

• Ka-Bala at the online Museum of Talking Boards.