Mancala games have been popular in Africa for thousands of years. Two players move small stones or seeds around pits scooped out of a board. The goal is to get the most stones on your side of the board and in your Mancala cup. The trick is deciding which group of stones is best to move!
You will need:
- An empty egg carton
- 48 small stones, buttons, marbles, or beads
- 2 small cups (the Mancalas)
What to do:
- Use an egg carton and two shallow cups for the Mancala board and Mancalas. Each player owns the six pockets on one side of the egg carton and the Mancala cup placed to his or her right.
- Place four stones in each of the 12 pockets in the egg carton.
- Decide who will go first. The first player scoops up all the stones from one of his or her six pockets and drops them one by one in the pockets around the carton in an anticlockwise direction starting in the next pocket. If you reach your Mancala, drop a stone in it, but do not drop stones in your opponent’s Mancala.
- The players will take turns picking up all the stones from a pocket and moving them as described in step there, always taking from one of their own pockets. If the last stone in a turn is placed in the player’s own Mancla, the player gets another turn. If the last stone is placed in an empty cup on the player’s own side, he or she may take that stone and all the stones from the pocket directly opposite his or her own, if there are any, and put them in his or her own Mancala. The game ends when one player’s side is clear of stones.
You’re the winner if you have more stones in your pockets and Mancala than your opponent does.
Picture Credit : Google