From the interesting book Life in Ancient Africa we learn about a game called Mancala that dates back to 1500 BC. The Ancient Africans believed that it tested intelligence and used it as part of their education. Today it is popular all over Africa, though many countries have different names and rules for the game.
Originally the game was played in the dirt, by scooping a set of parallel holes in the ground and moving pebbles from hole to hole. Later game boards were carved out of stone. This example was found at an Aksumite site in Ethiopia and dates back to the 7th century AD.
Size and design of Mancala boards and gameplay vary by region but they all contain “pits” and “seeds.” We create our game by using an egg carton and two little boxes. The boxes are the “capture pits.” Instead of seeds we use beads. Traditionally seeds, pebbles, or beans are used.
The kids count out 48 beads and place 4 beads in each “pit” of the egg carton.
The idea of the game is to “sow” your seeds around the board until you have none on your side and to try to capture the most seeds in the process. We go over the game rules (here’s a good primer) and the girls think this will be easy and fun.
But pretty quickly the game gets serious!! They realize a little thinking goes a long way…
They game is over when one player’s side is empty of beads. They count up the beads in their capture box..
And we have a winner! (With some very kind moves from her big sister.)
They quickly ask to play again 🙂
Globe Scouts 