Mancala rulea12/29/2023 Mancala can also take on a more serious aspect. The Dogon of Mali do not encourage children to play mancala for fear that it will bring misfortune to the village, but adults playing the game seemingly don’t carry the same risk. For example, The Wolof of Senegal traditionally forbid non-initiated boys from playing. In certain areas, it is seen as a man’s game, and in others areas, men don’t play, making it a female game.Īlthough mancala games have educational value in teaching arithmetic skills, some places forbid boys or girls from playing. The rules of who is allowed to play vary from place to place. The word Mancala is derived from the Arabic word Naqala (na-ka-la), which means “to move” or “to transfer” It is widely believed that Arab traders brought the game with them when traveling and it quickly spread all over Africa and the world, but it is uncertain to know where the game first originated. The board was carved out of limestone bearing a striking resemblance to modern-day Mancala boards. However, the oldest Mancala boards were found in An Ghazal, Jordan in the floor of a Neolithic dwelling. Ancient Mancala boards were found in Aksumite settlements in Matara, Eritrea, and Yeha, Ethiopia. There is archeological and historical evidence that dates Mancala back to the year 700 AD in East Africa. Remember, the goal of the game is to capture more seeds than your opponent.Mancala is one of the oldest known two-player board games in the world, believed to have been created in ancient times. If the hole opposite it has seeds, you capture all of them. This will guarantee you another free turn.Īnother strategy will be to play the hole where the last seed in your hand will land in an empty store on your side. If you used up your second turn and your opponent played the whole that is one or two holes away from their mancala, play the sixth hole from your store. This way, the last stone will be dropped in your own store. If you get the first turn, choose a hole that is 5 holes away from your mancala. Since you get another turn if the last seed is dropped in your own mancala, you need to choose wisely which hole to start with. If you want to win, there are certain strategies you can employ. The winner is basically determined after all the seeds captured are counted. The one with the most seeds in each store wins. The winner is declared based on the number of seeds. If you still have seeds on your side of the board at this point, you capture all of them. When all six spaces on one side of the Mancala board are empty, the game ends. You lose a turn when you run out of stones in your hand. All the seeds you capture must be placed in your store.ħ. If the last seed is dropped into an empty hole on your side, you get that seed and all those in the hole directly opposite.Ħ. You pick all the seeds in your store and run the play again.ĥ. If the last seed is dropped in your own store, you get a free turn. Every time you run into your own Mancala, deposit one seed. Via the classic rock, paper, scissors or other games.ģ. There are several ways to determine who should make the first move. If you’re it, you need to deposit one seed in each hole, following a counterclockwise direction, until all the seeds run out.Ģ. The game starts with one player choosing a specific hole and then picking up all the seeds in it. One side of the board would belong to the person across it.Ĥ8 seeds or small stones are needed to play the game. The board should be placed between the players. In some cases, it is located at either end of the board. Place four pieces of stones, seeds, and the like in each of the 12 holes of the board.Įach player has a Mancala or store to the right side of the board. If you want to play the two-rank mancala or Kalah, the basic rules are as follows: Set up the board or playing surface There’s also the notion of capturing holes, where all the seed in those holes will belong to the player who captured them at the end of the game.īecause there are different variations of mancala, the rules also vary. In one variation, capturing requires that the last seed is dropped in a hole across a hole with a set number or specific configuration of stones.Īnother is when a seed lands in an empty hole, all the seeds in the hole directly opposite are captured. The last hole sown or where the last seed is dropped, determines whether stones are captured. Another goal is to capture all holes in the front row. In a game where there are four rows involved, the objective changes-to leave the opponent with no legal moves available. This applies to most two- and three-row Mancala games. The goal is to capture more seeds or stones than the opponent. The game move is inspired by the process of sowing, where seeds are dropped one by one into subsequent holes. The idea behind the game is for the players to sow and capture seeds.
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