Avoiding Excessive Build Up in Mancala

Video Transcript

"Hello! My names is Melissa Schenk and on behalf of expertvillage.com, today we’re discussing strategy techniques for playing the game Mancala. The next strategy technique in this clip that we’ll be discussing is called “avoiding excessive buildup.” Now, if we go to the boards here, basically in avoiding excessive buildup, unless you are deliberately hoarding, let’s say in A here. I often try to keep the number of pebbles or stones in each bin less than or equal to the number needed to hit my own Mancala. It’s a really good rule or strategy to keep in mind. It really does preserve the option of starving your opponent of stones. In this case, avoiding excessive buildup, I want to take the stones out of A, like so, and I’m going to sow them into my smaller bins. I’m left with 2 going into the other side, but by doing this, by avoiding excessive buildup; yes, I lost 2 stones here but I could’ve lost a whole lot more if I had left them all in bin A. You had perhaps on your next turn had come around into L because it’s empty and had stolen all of those stones. "