MANCALA: Rules and Strategies

Objective: Collect the maximum number of stones or seeds in your Mancala (Mancalas are the large oval shaped bowls at each end of the board)

The Board: The board is placed between the two players in such a manner that the longer sides are facing them. There are 6 bowls in front of both the players. Also there are two large bowls (the Mancalas) on either side of the players but only the one on the right side of a particular player belongs to him/her.

Set up: 4 stones are placed in each of the small bowls (12 bowls). NOTE: the stones are not to be placed in the Mancalas. Extra stones are also kept just in case the ones being played with get lost.

Getting Started: The players take alternate turns. When a player's turn comes, he/she is supposed to pick up all the stones from one of the bowls on his/her side and start dropping stone into each successive bowl in an anti-clockwise direction until the person has no more stones in his/her hand. The player can drop the stone in his/her own Mancala however he/she cannot do the same in his/her opponent's Mancala and it is meant to be skipped whenever encountered. Once a stone is dropped in a Mancala then it stays there until the end of the game.  If by chance the player happens to drop the last stone in his/her own Mancala, then that player gets another turn. If a bowl of yours is already empty and you happen to drop your last stone in the same, then that particular stone plus all the stones in your opponent’s bowl directly opposite to that particular bowl are placed in your Mancala.  If you happen to drop a stone in your own Mancala, and have a few stones left, then you carry on putting stones in a counter clockwise manner into your opponent's bowls.

To win: The game ends when one of the players has no more stones in any of the 6 small bowls. Then the other player picks up all the stones from all the bowls and puts them in hi/her Mancala. The player with more number of stones in his/her Mancala wins the game

Strategies:

• Let a few stones collect in one particular bowl and let it remain dormant. If your opponent manages to play without that particular bowl, then at the end of the game all these stones will go into your Mancala.
• You can capture the stones of your opponents bowl by placing your last stone in an empty bowl on your own side directly opposite to the opponent’s bowl being raided.
• You can build up such a board situation that it may itself lead to a variety to options depending upon the moves made by your opponent, which is very similar to chess.
• Try to keep your number of stones in each bowl either less than or same no of stones needed for your own Mancala. This gives you the option to starve your opponent and gives you better returns, which quickly increases the no. of stones in your Mancala easily.