Do you need a two-player logic game, but you’re short on funds? Mancala is an excellent game, yet easy to DIY. It has a long history, too! This game is a hit with kids and adults alike. (I love games that I can beat my husband at!)
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Do you love Mancala? Check out my Mancala unit study!
How to play
The goal of Mancala is to get the most stones into your store. There are two larger pockets, called “stores,” on either side of two rows of six pockets each. On your turn, choose a small pocket to pick up stones from (you can only choose from your row). You will go around in counter-clockwise order, dropping one stone in each small pocket. When you get to your own store, drop one stone in that, but skip your opponent’s store.
There are a few special rules. First, when the last stone from a pocket is dropped in your own store, you get another turn. So if you plan it right, you can get two turns, allowing you to drop more stones into your store.
If your last stone dropped is in your own pocket, which was previously empty, you get to collect both the stone you just dropped in your empty pocket AND the stone(s) in your opponent’s opposite pocket and place all of those stones in your store. For this reason, you want to avoid collecting a large number of stones in just one pocket. You don’t want your opponent to be able to collect them!
How to DIY Mancala
As I said, Mancala is exceptionally easy to DIY. All you need are 48 small stones (or dried beans, beads, legos, etc) and an egg carton. A standard egg carton, with 1 dozen little pockets in two rows of six, makes an excellent arrangement for a Mancala game. When you set up the game, each of the small pockets gets four stones.
History of Mancala
There are actually many different versions of Mancala. When we bought our copy from the thrift store, it didn’t come with any directions. I found our directions from Endless Games. There are so many versions of Mancala because it has been around for a very long time. Apparently, “Mancala” is derived from an Arabic word that means “to move.”
Mancala probably goes back even further, but evidence has been found as far back as 1400 BCE. Games were carved into the ruins of Thebes, Memphis, and Luxor, in Egypt. Some even claim it was played as early as 6000 BCE in Jordan!