History of mancala games

There are in fact more than versions of this "count and capture" game, played throughout Africa, all with slightly different rules. In North and West Africa it's common to use two rows of pits, in Ethiopia they play with 3 rows, and in East and southern Africa, they play with four rows. Some games have "stores" at the end of each board, others do not.

In certain West-African dialects the holes in the board are referred to as warri or awari and in those cultures the game is called "Wari". Islamic cultures name the game with respect to the physical action that takes place during the game calling the game "mancala" The word "mancala" means to move in Arabic.

Count-and-Capture Games were never very popular in Europe, except in the Baltic area, where they loved the game Bohnenspiel.

But still mancala boards were found in ancient castles in Germany, Greece, Bosnia and Serbia. It's important to know the rules of basic two-rank Mancala , also known as Kalah.

You may also want to brush up with these strategy tips for Mancala. The word mancala is derived from the Arabic word naqala , which means "to move. You will see references to the game going back thousands of years. It is a simple enough setup to be played on an earthen surface, with seeds and holes, but the solid archaeological evidence doesn't exist documenting earlier origin.

There are many versions played by nations and peoples throughout Africa, with different names, such as Wari, Warri, Awari, Oware, and Wouri. The game is played in the Baltic areas of Europe but didn't spread through Europe. Mancala arrived in North America with the slave trade, as the forcibly enslaved people brought their culture to the Caribbean and America.

It became popular in Louisiana as Warra and turned into the commercial version, Kalah. Different versions became more popular in different regions in accordance with the heritage of the people who had brought it over. Much like chess, mancala has been a subject of interest for mathematicians and computer scientists.

Without the idiosyncrasies of human players, very little of the game is left up to chance and mathematical analysis can illustrate what a flawless game could look like. Stronger players are able to do these kinds of calculations in their heads and can predict what the board will look like several moves out.