Creating Mancala Game Boards
Submitted by: Michal Austin
Title: Mancala Game Boards
Grades: 4th - 6th
From Michal:
Because I don't have a sink in my room, I have shied away from doing too many 3-dimensional projects with my intermediate students due to clean-up challenges. For this project I didn't need any additional clean-up.
We measured and cut out cardboard frames to nest our egg cartons in. Four milk cartons were needed per student, and these were attached at each end. After attaching everything together with Masking Tape
Optional:
Many of the African mancala boards (Archive) are raised up. Students could White Glue
Rules of the Game
(These are the rules we used. Rules vary from region to region as does the name of the game)
This is a version of the basic game, known as two-rank Mancala.
1. The Mancala 'board' is made up of two rows of six holes each. (An empty egg carton is perfect - with a cup at each end for the "house/store"
2. Four pieces -- marbles or stones (buttons work too) -- are placed in each of the 12 holes. The color of the pieces is irrelevant.
3. Each player has a 'store' to the right side of the Mancala board. Small butter dishes or fruit cups work well.
4. The game begins with one player picking up all of the pieces in any one of the holes on his side.
5. Moving counter-clockwise, the player deposits one of the stones in each hole until the stones run out.
6. If you run into your own store, deposit one piece in it. If you run into your opponent's store, skip it.
7. If the last piece you drop is in your own store, you get a free turn.
8. If the last piece you drop is in an empty hole on your side, you capture that piece and any pieces in the hole directly opposite.
9. Always place all captured pieces in your store.
10. The game ends when all six spaces on one side of the Mancala board are empty.
11. The player who still has pieces on his side of the board when the game ends captures all of those pieces.
12. Count all the pieces in each store. The winner is the player with the most pieces.
Tips:
Planning ahead is essential to victory in board games like Mancala. Try to plan two or three moves into the future.
Books
For more on Mancala boards, see "Mancala: The Board Game in Africa and Asia"
[Note- This book is out of print and there are only a few copies left on Amazon. See the books below for additional information or as a replacement for the book above in the event you aren't able to get a copy.]
The Mancala Pack: All You Need to Learn, Play and Master the Classic African Count-And-Capture Game
The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World's Oldest Board Games
All About Mancala: Its History and How to Play
Mancala - Pyrography Decoration
Examples of student made mancala boards with pyrography decoration
Mancala boards were made by Industrial Technology students and were decorated by art students.
