PLAYED FOR YOU

Mancala

Pits and shells or pebbles

Pit games are among the oldest known game mechanisms; game pieces in pits are relocated until one player has won. In some versions of the game you must also conquer the pits. For playing pieces pebbles, marbles, shells or fruit pips are used and very often the pits are simply scratched into the ground.

In this edition there are twelve pits in two rows and one elongated pit, called Mancala, at both ends of the rows, one for each player. At the start of the game you seed each pit with four pieces. Players sit face to face before their personal row of six pits; their Mancala is to their right. In his turn a player empties on of his own pits and distributes the content – one by one – into the adjacent and following pits in counter clockwise direction, also into his own pits and in his own Mancala, the opponent’s Mancala is skipped. When the last piece is dropped into one of your own pits you immediately have another turn. When the last piece from a pit ends up in an empty pit, you can take this piece and all pieces from the exactly opposite pit and place them into his own Mancala. When he does this, his turn ends, even when the last piece of the turn did end up in one of his own pits.

You win the game if you have collected more than 24 pieces in your Mancala. When all your six pits are empty you cannot move anymore; the other player can place all pieces from his pit into his own Mancala; then you compare contents of the Mancalas, who has more pieces in his wins.

Mancala is one of the most fascinating abstract game and one of the most ancient ones; all those interested in games should own it or at least have played.

Players: 2

Age: 6+

Time: 30+

Designer: not named

Artist: not named

Price: ca. 10 Euro

Publisher: Noris Spiele 2013

Web: www.noris-spiele.de

Genre: Abstract placement game

Users: For families

Special: 2 players

Version: multi

Rules: de en fr it

In-game text: no

Comments:

Classic game mechanisms

Mainly known in the tropics

Played in many versions

Compares to:

All versions of pit & pebbles games

Other editions:

Many with many different companies, also by the names of Bao, Hus, Kalaha or Wari

Chance (pink): 0

Tactic (turquoise): 3

Strategy (blue): 0

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 0

Communication (red): 0

Interaction (brown): 3

Dexterity (green): 0

Action (dark green): 0