mancala
Pit-to-pit strategy
Mancala is a family of board games involving the transfer of seeds, stones, or other small pieces between rows of pits or hollows.
Players capture pieces by strategic distribution—picking up all pieces from one pit and dropping them one by one into subsequent pits.
The games originated in Africa and the Middle East and remain popular worldwide: We played mancala on the beach.
Made from timber
- carvedCut to create form
- holesOpenings through material
- pitsSeeds or hollows
- cupsSmall drinking containers
rows · handmade · polished · hinged · foldable · storage · compartments · artisan
Plant embryos in casings
Planting for cultivation
- capturingTaking into custody
- turn-basedPlayers alternate actions
- multiplayerInvolving multiple participants
- opponentOne who contends against
moves · winning · losing · laps · distribution · clockwise · counter-clockwise · rounds
Determining quantity sequentially
- planningArranging for future events
- foresightAbility to anticipate futures
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
- tacticsMethods to achieve goals
positioning · analysis · decision-making · prediction · timing · endgame · opening · counterplay
Of that southern continent
- ancientVery old indeed
- traditionalFollowing long-held customs
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- BantuAfrican language family
Ethiopian · cultural · ancestral · indigenous · historic · archaeological
wooden
Made from timber
cups · rows · handmade · polished · hinged · foldable · storage · compartments · artisan · craftsmanship
seeds
Plant embryos in casings
beads · counters · cowrie · marbles · tokens · gems · pieces
sowing
Planting for cultivation
- capturingTaking into custody
- turn-basedPlayers alternate actions
- multiplayerInvolving multiple participants
opponent · moves · winning · losing · laps · distribution · clockwise · counter-clockwise · rounds · clearing
counting
Determining quantity sequentially
- planningArranging for future events
- foresightAbility to anticipate futures
- calculationMathematical problem-solving process
tactics · positioning · analysis · decision-making · prediction · timing · endgame · opening · counterplay · patience
African
Of that southern continent
- ancientVery old indeed
- traditionalFollowing long-held customs
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
Bantu · Ethiopian · cultural · ancestral · indigenous · historic · archaeological
- gamesboard games, card games, board game, card game, video games
- tabletop gamesboard games, board game, card games, card game, backgammon
- two-player gameschess, checkers, backgammon, tic-tac-toe, Connect Four
- board gamesboard, checkers, Monopoly, chess, shogi
- ancient pastimeschariot racing, Olympic Games, discus, javelin, boxing
- Old Gameschess, backgammon, checkers, draughts, go