THE MANKALA BOARD GAME

The Business Game bombards its players with a continuous stream of choices. Making the winning selection requires sound strategy and a host of tactical skills. We help our clients crystallize the most effective strategies and devise the most potent tactics to attain their particular management and business objectives. The Mankala game board symbolizes the multidisciplinary brainpower and real-world know-how we apply to give our organization a telling advantage in the Management and Business Game. 'Mankala' appears to be an Egyptian name derived from the Arabic word naqala, meaning 'to move'.

The two-row Mankala board originates in West Africa and is called 'Wari' or 'Waro'. Two-row Mankala is the oldest and most widely distributed game in the world. Mankala is a board game akin to draughts and played throughout Africa. Like chess, it is a contemplative game of strategy but played with great speed-demanding both mental and physical agility.

The game is based on counting and calculation, involving no external element of chance. In some African communities the urge to win is subordinated to the desire to keep the game going as long as possible; usually in the presence of a vocal audience. Many scholars reckon Mankala games to be the oldest in the world. Traces of game boards have been found during excavations in 15th-century Zimbabwe, Ancient Egypt, and even Neolithic Kenya.

Mankala is a traditional African game that lots of families play during Kwanzaa.

The Mankala Board
The board contains a 12 holes sideways and one larger one on each side, with 48 small stones/marbles/beans. Get another egg carton and cut two cups out of it. Place 4 stones or marbles in each of the 12 main cups.

Playing the Game
You need two people. Sit on opposite sides of the board. The side you're sitting on is your side of the board, with your 6 playing cups and 1 "home".

Player 1 goes first and picks up all of the stones from any cup on his side of the board. He then places one stone in the next cup to the right, and one in the next cup to the right, and so on until he doesn't have any stones in his hand. Then, it's Player 2's turn!

Note: You put a stone in your own home, but you skip your friend's home!

Now this is important: If your LAST stone lands in an empty spot on YOUR side of the board, you get to pick up all the stones in the opposite cup (on your friend's side) and put them in your home! And, if your last stone lands in your "home" cup, you get to take another turn!

The goal is to get the most stones in your home. When all the stones are gone from the 12 playing cups, the game is over and whoever has the most stones in their "home" cup wins!

Some tips and notes:

• Once a stone is in your "home," it never leaves there until the game's over.
• You can't pick up stones from your friend's side. Only from your own!
• You want your last stone to land in an empty cup on your side, but you can't pick them up to count them.
• Sometimes you'll get to take a few turns in a row, because your last stone will keep landing in your "home."

Sources:

http://www.driedger.ca/mankala/Man-1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala