What is Mancala?

Mancala is a flat term for a large family of board games that are played throughout Africa and Asia, under a wide range of variations and names. Archaeological evidence suggests that Mancala can be one of the oldest games that people play, with clear examples of Mancala boards found in excavations that date back to at least the seventh century BC. This large family of games also has a huge international following because they are easy to learn, but mastering Mancala lasts a lifetime. Many English speakers do not realize that Mancala is more of a group term than the name of a particular game. The game that many Americans know as "Mancala" is actually Kalah , Wari or bao . However, the basic rules of the game for Mancala are basically the same and the equipment is similar. The Mancala board can be as simple as holes scratched on the ground, or as decorated as a painted and unloaded table in the Monarch house. Seme can be used as counterson, pebbles, stones and other small objects; Again, MANCALA decorative games can use valuable and distinctive counters.

For playing, counters are distributed to the board and players choose specific pits in the board to start. They remove all counters from selected pit and distribute the brands gradually until they run out of markers. Depending on the variant, players use different criteria to decide at the end of the rotation; For example, if the last counter lands in a pit that already has brands, the player can empty this pit and start the sequence again until he gets out of the counters, signaling the beginning of the second player.

As players move along the board, they capture pieces belonging to the other player and often store them in a special pit at the end of the board. A good game can include strategy and comprehensive higher mathematics, making Mancala as chess and similar strategic games. Mancala probably also contributedTo develop board games such as Backgammon and Lady, who also use counters on a specialized album.

Some people call Mancala the Count Family and capture games, in a link to actions performed during the game. Others call Mancala "Sewing Games" because players alternately "send" counters that are sometimes made of seeds. Many gaming shops sell MANCALA equipment, often including instructions for several variants.