mancala

MANCALA

What is mancala?


 Mancala games are played throughout the world—especially in Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The earliest evidence of mancala may come from Eritrea, where archaeologists have found game boards dating from the 6th or 7th centuries AD.

 Though there are many variants of mancala, most versions share these elements:

 • A set of counters (e.g., seeds)

 • A series of small pits arranged in 2 or 4 rows

 • Two large storage pits (where players keep the seeds they “capture”)

 • General rules of play that include

 (1) beginning the game by placing a specified number of counters in each small pit,

 (2) having players take turns “sowing” and “capturing” seeds.

 A player “sows” seeds by choosing a pit, scooping up all the seeds in that pit, and--moving in a specified direction--dropping one seed in each of the pits immediately adjacent to the starting pit.

 Depending on which variant of mancala is played, there are different rules for capture. In most versions, the object is to capture the most seeds.

 Let’s review two mancala games. The first, Kalah, is usually considered a children’s game. The second, Oware, can be enjoyed by kids and adults. However, it is considered a more complex, grown-up game.

Kalah: A good beginner’s game for kids - SCHOOL RULES!
 Kalah is one of the most popular mancala games for kids. Inspired by traditional mancala games, the rules for Kalah were invented an American, William Julius Champion.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Kalah is sometimes called “Mancala” in the United States.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> In Kalah, the game board consists of two rows of 6 small pits (or “houses”), with a large storage pit at each end. Picture an egg carton with a bowl at each end.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> At the beginning of the game, you and your opponent sit on opposite sides of the game board.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> The row in front of you is your row.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> The storage pit to your right is your storage pit.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Four seeds are placed in each of the 12 houses.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> And then play begins:

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • The first player takes all the seeds from one of his houses. He sows the seeds, moving counter-clockwise. If he gets as far as his own storage pit, he drops a seed there, too. If the last seed in his hand goes in his storage pit, he gets another turn. Otherwise, his turn ends.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • The second player repeats the “”sowing” maneuver described in #1. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> The game continues, often with these additional rules:

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • Players don’t drop seeds in each other’s storage pits

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • If, during a turn, a player’s last seed lands in one of his empty pits, and there are seeds in the pit immediately opposite it, the player gets to capture both his last seed and the seeds opposite.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • The game ends when a player runs out of seeds on his side of the board. The opponent gets to capture any seeds remaining on his side, and the player with the most captured seeds when.

Want to play online? Check out [|Mancala snails,] an electronic version of Champion’s Mancala. (site blocked at school) Or Play Mancala Online [|here]. (This site is not blocked at school).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oware, a Mancala game for older kids and adults
<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Oware, a West African variant of mancala, is a more sophisticated game. It’s recommended for adults and older kids (11 and up).

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> In Oware (also called Wari and Awale), the game board resembles that used for Kalah, consisting of

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • two rows of 6 small pits or “houses,” each of which begins with 4 seeds

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • two storage pits, one for each player

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> The “sowing” is also similar to that practice in Kalah. When it’s your turn:

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> (1) Pick one of the smaller houses in your row,

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> (2) scoop up all the seeds in that house, and

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> (3) Moving counter-clockwise, drop one seed in each of the small houses until you’ve sown all the seeds in your hand.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> But here’s where the rules diverge from those of Kalah.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> First, you don’t drop seeds into the storage pits as you sow—-sow seeds only in the small pits or “houses.”

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Second, the rules for capture are different. If you’ve ended your move in one of your opponent’s houses (as opposed to one of <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> your own houses), then you count the seeds in that house. Are there 2 or 3 seeds in it (no more and no less)?

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • If the answer is no, your turn is over and your opponent gets to sow seeds.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> • But if the answer is yes, you get to collect the seeds and keep them in your storage pit. Then you examine the next-to-last house. If that house belongs to your opponent, and it contains 2 or 3 seeds, then you get to collect those seeds as well.

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Continue working backwards until you get to a house that doesn’t contain the correct number of seeds