From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Games in the
mancala family include:
A modern, European
Bao /
Omweso board with jade gemstones
The most widely played games are probably[
according to whom? ] :
Bao is a complex strategy game of
Kenya and
Tanzania , played on a 4×8 board.
Kalah is the ruleset usually included with commercially available boards; however, the game is heavily biased towards the first player, and it is often considered a children's game. The board is 2×6 with stores. The
Pie rule can be used to balance the first-player's advantage.
Oware , the national game of
Ghana , is also known by Warri,
[1] Ayo (Yoruba Name. Nigeria), Awele, Awari, Ouril, and other names. It has relatively simple rules but considerable strategic depth. The board is 2×6 (not counting optional stores).
Omweso (also known as coro ) is a strategic game of
Uganda , played on a 4×8 board.
Pallanguzhi is played in
Tamil nadu ,
Southern India with 2 x 7 stores. Two varieties of this game are popular, Kaashi and Bank.
Games with unusual features
Bohnenspiel is a German mancala based on a Persian game not unlike some African mancala variants. The board is 2×6 with 2 stores.
ǁHus is a
Namibian game. The board is 4×8.
Bantumi , featured on many early Nokia phones such as the
Nokia 3310
Conga (Martin Franke; Germany)
Cups (Arthur Amberstone and Wald Amberstone; United States: New York)
Devil Bunny Hates the Earth , where you try to save the world by jamming taffy machines. (James Ernest and
Cheapass Games ; United States: Seattle, Washington)
Oh-Wah-Ree is a commercial variant of
Oware with provision for more than two players.
55Stones is a modern mancala game with simultaneous moves.
Kauri is a modern mancala game with two kinds of seeds.
Mangala (Serdar Asaf Ceyhan; Turkey)
Space Walk is a modern boardgame with mancala mechanic.
Trajan is a modern boardgame variant with mancala mechanic.
Five Tribes is a modern boardgame variant with mancala mechanic.
Omweso (or Igisoro) players in
Kigali ,
Rwanda
Vietnamese children playing ô ăn quan
Kakumei (
Japan )
Kale (
Gabon )
Kaloleh (
Sumatra )
Kapo (
Senegal )
Kanji guti (
India —
Odisha )
Katro (
Betsileo of
Madagascar )
Khutka boia (
India —
Punjab )
Kiela (
Angola )
Kiothi (
Meru of
Kenya )
Kisolo (also spelled Chisolo) (
DR Congo and
Zimbabwe )
Kotu-baendum (
Sri Lanka )
Kombe (
Kenya )
Köçürme (
Kırgızistan )
Krur (
Hassaniya of
Western Sahara )
Kubuguza
[3]
La'b Madjnuni (
Syria )
La'b Hakimi , or
La'b Akila (
Syria )
La'b Roseya (
Syria )
Lamlameta (
Konso people of
Ethiopia )
Latho (
Dorzé of
Ethiopia )
Layli Goobalay (
Somalia )
Li'b al-ghashim
Longbeu-a-cha (India—
Assam )
Lontu-Holo (the
Maroon of
Suriname )
Madji (the
Benni of
Nigeria )
Main chakot (
Thailand )
Thai Mancala board (possibly Mai Chakot or Mak Khom), as displayed in the Institute of Southern Thai Studies near Songkhla.
Mak Khom (
Thailand )
Photograph of two Thai girls playing with a mancala board, possibly the game Main Chakot or Mak Khom.
Makonn (
Seychelles )
Mancala'h (
Egypt ,
Syria )
Mandoli (
Greece —
Hydra )
Mangala (
Egypt ,
Turkey - different rules)
Mangola (
Congo ,
Rwanda )
Matoe (
Indonesia —
Sumba )
Mawkar katiya (
India —
Assam )
Mbau (
Kenya —
Kilimanjaro region of the
Rift Valley )
Mbothe (
Pokomo people of
Kenya )
Mechiwa (
Bali )
Mefuvha
[4]
Melegayası (Turkey) The board is 2×9 with stores.
Mereköçdü (
Azerbaijan ) The board is a circle of six holes. Each player has 21 stones.
Meuchoh (
Sumatra —
Aceh )
Meulieh (
Sumatra —
Aceh )
Meusueb (
Sumatra —
Aceh )
Meuta' (
Sumatra —
Aceh )
Minkale (Bin Kale) (
Turkey )
Mongale (
Kenya )
Naranj (
Maldives )
Nsolo (
Zambia )
Ô ăn quan (
Viet Nam ) game is 2 mandarin boxes x5 ponds each, with 25 stones or tamarind seeds each
Obridjie (
Nigeria )
Ouril (
Cape Verde )
Oh’valhu-gondi (
Maldives ) 2 players play with cowrie shells.
Pachgarhwa (
India )
Pallanguzhi (
Tamil of
India ), also known as Pallankuli.
Pereauni (
Uganda )
Poo (
Liberia )
Puhulmuti (
Sri Lanka )
Sai (
Flores )
Sat-gol (
India )
Songo
[5]
Sungka (
Philippines )
Til-guti (
India )
Tsoro (
Zimbabwe )
Toee (
Sudan )
Togyzkumalak (
Kazakhstan )
Toguz korgool (
Kyrgyzstan ) The board is 2×9 with stores.
Ünee tugalluulakh (
Kazakhs of
Mongolia )
Vaamana Guntalu (
Telugu name, India - Andhra Pradesh)
Vai Lung Thlan (the Mizo in Mizoram, India)
Walak-pussa (
Sri Lanka )
Warra (
United States )
Wa-wee (
Saint Lucia )
散窯 (Sàn yáo) (
China —
Henan )
老牛棋 (Lǎo niú qí) (
China —
Anhui )
分六煲棋 (Fēn liù bāo qí) (
China —
Guangdong )
^ Henry R. Muller, Warri: A West African Game of Skill , The Journal of American Folklore. Vol. 43, No. 169. pp. 313-316.
^
Stewart Culin ,
Philippine Games , American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, No. 4. (Oct-Dec 1900), pp. 643-656.
^ Alan P. Merriam, The Game of Kubuguza Among the Abatutsi of North-East Ruanda . Man, Vol. 53. (November 1953), pp. 169-172.
^ H. A. Stayt, The Bavenda .
^ P. H. G. Powell-Cotton, H. J. Braunholtz, A Mancala Board Called "Songo." , Man. Vol. 31. (July 1931), pp. 123.