Mancala:

History Of Mancala:

The first recorded evidence of Mancala an ancient two-player board game was found in the Israel city of Gedera which was inside a Roman bathhouse where pottery boards and rock cuts were discovered that date back to between the 2nd and 3rd century.

Equipment:

Equipment for Mancala includes a board which varies in size and the materials it is made from. This board has several holes (referred to as “pits”) in them to store marbles/stones which are used while playing this game. The configurations of the board can vary as mentioned above for example some boards have 2X6 to 2X10 holes and others have 4X40.

How To Play Mancala :

The rules of Mancala are very easy to pick up as I quickly got the hang of it while playing.

The primary objective of Mancala is to capture more stones than the opposing play by the end of the game.

1. First you need to get a Mancala board which has 2 rows and 6 columns. If you do not have one at the ready you can use an empty egg carton.

2. Next four marbles /stones are to be placed in each of the 12 holes.

3. Both players have a store (known as a Mancala) to the side of the board.

4. The game starts with one of the players picking of each of their marbles in a hole (pit) on their side.

5. The player deposits his marbles one at time in each hole moving counter-clockwise until he/she has no marbles left.

6. If the player reaches their store, they place one of their marbles in it. If they reach the opposing player’s store then they must skip it.

7. If the last marble a player places is in their own store, they receive an additional free turn.

8. If the last marble that is moved lands in an empty hole on that player’s side, that player captures that marble as well as any marbles in the hole opposite to it.

9. All captured pieces are to placed in your store.

10. When one side of the board is completely empty the game ends.

11. The player that still has pieces on his/her side of the Mancala board when the game is over captures all of those pieces.

12. The player who has the most marbles in their store at the end of the game wins.

Strategy Involved:

Given the simplicity of the game I found that strategies could still be carried out and that I could plan a couple of moves head. Such strategies include moving certain pieces at certain times to capture the opposing player’s pieces.

What I Thought Of The Game:

Overall I thought that Mancala is a very fun gun game to play due to the involvement of strategy and critical thinking.