Mangala Game

Mancala Game 

The Mangala Game is a traditional game. It is strictly related to the mancala games in Iraq & Palestine and Baltic German. There is also another game referred as Mangala played by the in Egypt and Sudan with different Rules.

The game can be traced in Ottoman Time starting from the 16th century.

Game Rules 

• Setting up the Game

Each player sits opposite each other facing the long side of the board. Set up by giving each player 24 stones. A player places four stones into each of the holes (also known as pits or pockets) closest to them. The bowls, or mancala stores, are placed at to the right of the board, and remain empty of stones.

• Playing the Game

Decide who goes first with a coin flip or other method. There are three steps to playing the game. Each game lasts around five to 10 minutes.

1. Place four stones into each of the pits.
2. The starting player grabs all the stones from one hole on their side and drops them, one by one, into each pit around the board going in a counter-clockwise direction. If the player passes over one of the mancala stores or bowls, he or she would place a stone in there, too. Once the player doesn’t have any more stones in hand, it’s the other person’s turn to do the same thing.
3. If a player has enough stones to hit their own store, they place a stone in it. and If it’s the player’s last stone, they get a free turn to go again. If you pass over another player’s store during your turn, you do not place a stone in their pit.
4. The game ends when one player has emptied the six holes of stones on their side. The other player then takes all the stones on their own side and places them into their store (or bowl).
5. The winner of the game is the player with the most stones in their mancala store.