What is the object of the game mancala

The game might have been played by ancient Nabataeans and could have been an ancient version of the modern mancala game. When all six pockets on one side are emptied the game ends. Each player will count the number of stones in their store. The player who has the most stones in their store wins.

Avalanche is very different — no captures — if your turn ends in a spot with a piece or pieces in it, you go again with those pieces and continue to do so until you land in an empty spot. The rest of the rules are the same. I loved this game as a kid for the same reasons that I love it as a parent: Mancala is a breeze to learn, easy to set up, play, and clean up , and contains far more strategy than you might expect. This particular set is very nice, solid wood board, pits are deep enough to hold lots of stones, stones are glass and heavy enough to make that satisfying clunk down into the pits.

Remember Me. Home Gaming. What is the object of mancala? Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Tips to win Mancala Opening Moves. Besides, Can you win Mancala one move? Tags: pocket mancala. However, the oldest Mancala boards were found in An Ghazal, Jordan in the floor of a Neolithic dwelling. Next, four pieces — marbles or stones — are placed in each of the 12 holes.

Mancala requires 48 BEADs of any colour. Four BEADs are placed onto each of the play spaces to start the game. Each player will have six spaces in front of them and one storage space to their right. Get a free turn: When dropping stones into holes, you can drop one into your own mancala store bowl. Gather more stones: One way to amass more stones is by strategically dropping your last stone into an empty hole on your side of the board. Before you start your turn, look to see if your opponent has any cups with 1 or 2 stones in them.

If they do, then you can capture these stones by placing stones into them for a total of 2 to 3 stones per cup. It turns out that in Mancala, you can find a way not only to win which is nice , but to win all the marbles awesome , and to do so on your very first move! The objective is to capture more stones than your opponent.

There's a short list of items you'll need to play the game. You'll need a mancala board, which is made up of two rows of six holes, or pits. If you don't have a mancala board which is sold in stores, you can use an empty egg carton instead. You will need one small cereal bowl, known as a mancala store, for each player. You'll also need 48 marbles, chips, or stones of any color.

You can even use pennies or other coins as a substitute. Each player sits opposite each other facing the long side of the board or egg carton. Set up by giving each player 24 stones. A player places four stones into each of the holes also known as pits or pockets closest to them. The bowls, or mancala stores, are placed at to the right of the board, or egg carton, and remain empty of stones. Decide who goes first with a coin flip or other method. There are three steps to playing the game.

Each game lasts around five to 10 minutes. Place four stones into each of the pits. The starting player grabs all the stones from one hole on their side and drops them, one by one, into each pit around the board going in a counter-clockwise direction. If the player passes over one of the mancala stores or bowls, he or she would place a stone in there, too. Just skip over and proceed to the next pit on your side.

The game moves in this fluid, counter-clockwise fashion until one player has emptied all the pits on their side. If during a turn you drop your last piece into your own Store, you get another turn. There is no limit to how many consecutive turns you can take during a game. If you drop your last piece during a turn into an empty pit on your side of the board, and the opposite pit has one or more pieces left in it, you get to collect your last piece and the pieces from the opposing pit.

The opposite side player then collects all the remaining pieces in their pits and places them in their store. Now count up the pieces in each store. The player with the most pieces in their Store wins the game. Now, there are some house Mancala rules that you can add to the game of Kalah for more variety as well:.

So, in addition to Kalah, there are several variations within the general Mancala classification that each involve similar board types and objectives, but with slightly different rules. Below is an overview of how to play three other well-known versions of the Mancala game: Oware, Congkak and Togus Kumalak. This game is very similar to Kalah. You have a board with 6 pits, or houses, on each side.

There are 48 pieces, and the game begins with 4 pieces stored in each of the 12 houses.