Game Board for Mancala

Series Summary

Mancala is a term that refers to a very old group of counting games that most likely come from Africa. Also known as sowing or count and capture games, most varieties of Mancala, of which there are many, involve moving game pieces and capturing them from the board. Games usually require two players who try to control the board or force their opponent’s hand.

Thought to have its origins in agriculture—as many games are played with seeds, stones, or beans—Mancala games may have been some of the first ever played by people looking for something fun to do. Some would even compare Mancala to chess as games that involve simple moves but highly complex strategies.

In this free video series, learn basic Mancala rules, instructions and strategy. Go over the board and discuss basic game play. Learn how to win a game of Mancala, and get tips about planning your moves in advance. Finally, see a demonstration of a Mancala game in progress. Continue the tradition and learn how to play this ancient counting game.

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Melissa Schenk and on behalf of expertvillage.com, today I’m going to give you some basic tips and techniques on playing the game Mancala. Now if you have never played the game Mancala before, it is a 2 person game consisting of a board and stones, now we’ll get into the stones in the next segment. Let’s discuss the board for just a moment because there are many different variations on playing the game Mancala, including a different board and different levels as well. Now the game I’m going to teach you today is pretty much the most basic form of Mancala, the most widely played. So the board itself, as you can see as I mentioned is 2-player game, so the board consists of two rows and there are 6 holes on either side in the center, 6 smaller holes, with 2 large holes on the outside, now those are called stores. Now when we get into the stones, you’ll understand what I mean by calling them stores because basically they’re the storage spot for the stones. Now as I mentioned with again, it’s a 2 player game so this is the board, now this is a great game actually for kids if you want them to play in school. You can also make your own board. A great way to do this, as I mentioned, 6 rows here, you can use an egg carton, as you can see, we’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, so an egg carton is perfect for designing your own board. Now that would be the middle of the board. To create your stores, very simple, just get any kind of a bowl, you can use a cereal bowl if you like or some little bowls that maybe you put various nuts or something in and they can go on either end like that as well. So it’s very easy at home to create your own Mancala board, you don’t necessarily need to purchase one and in the next segment I’ll tell you exactly how many stones you need to find the games because once again, there are many variations on playing the game Mancala. "