Instead it is a type or designation of a game. There is actually no one game with the name mancala. The first evidence of the game are pottery board fragments in Ethiopia from the 6th and 7th centuries AD. The word mancala comes from the Arabic word naqala which means "to move". Mancala games fill a similar role in many African and some Asian countries similiar to that of chess in Western countries. Playing pieces are typically seeds, beans, stones, cowry shells, or other small counters. The large holes on the ends are sometimes called stores. The holes in the board are called depressions, pits, or houses. Mancala represents a family of board games found around the world called "sowing" games or "count-and-capture" games. Here is some background information about Mancala from Wikipedia: But as the examples above show, there are nicer boards and a variety of styles. The mancala board I bought is cheap plastic and only cost $5. Here are a few examples of what you can find: But you can also get it at online sites such as. I recently purchased the physical mancala board game from the game isle at my local Dollar General convenience store, believe it or not. Mancala seems to be growing in popularity. Mancala existed for hundreds of years as a board game before it became an online game, of course. It's fun to play mancala online, but it can be even more enjoyable to play the game in person. If the last gem of a move lands in your mancala, take another turn. ĭo not drop a gem in your opponent's mancala as you pass it by.Drop one gem into each small cup and into your mancala as you pass by until the gems in your hand are gone. Įach time you move, pick up all the gems in a cup and distribute them in a counter-clockwise direction to the next cup.You can only move gems from the small cups on your side of the board You and your opponent take turns moving the gems across the board based on the following rules: Scroll down to see pictures of the two styles, as well as some history of the game of mancala. But there are also four-player boards in the shape of a square. This happens to be a two-player mancala board. Whether you play mancala online against the computer or on a real board with a friend, I think you will find it fun, interesting, and a great brain workout. This game appears simple, but there really is some strategy to it. Your mancala is the large cup on the right of the board. So how is this game played? The player with the most shells at their head (home base) at the end of the game is the winner, but the rules can be confusing for beginners, especially if your math skills are as brilliant as mine.Collect as many gems in your "mancala" as you can. You may purchase online from Lazada or Shopee. Keep the game of sunkga alive in our culture by getting your own set. Remember when board game cafés were all the rage in Manila? I was disappointed not to see a sungka set in the spots I visited. If passed, we will see annual tournaments of indigenous sports, including sungka. 6192, which aims to be the Philippine Indigenous Games Preservation Act. The Philippine government has proposed the House Bill No. There are many variants including Oware,Awale, Ayo, Warri, Ouri, Ncho, Awele, but this game uses. It is one of the oldest known board games. I sound like an old fart when I complain that they’re too glued to their gadgets and apps. Get back to basics and play the classic game of Mancala on your iPhone,iPod touch and iPad You can play against the computer or friend online or offline. In Manila, I rarely see Filipino kids play classic Filipino games. Folklore forbids playing sungka indoors because it could cause your house to burn down in an accident. Like most Asian countries, Filipinos are superstitious. Sungka is similar to other Asian mancala games such as congak (played in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand, and Indonesia), chongka (from Marianas), and chonka (from Sri Lanka). The closest I got to playing sungka was a digital version back in 2000-the bantumi game in my Nokia 3310 mobile phone (time warp!). All I could do was watch the other kids play. My parents forbade me to play with sungka as a kid because Filipino-Chinese businessmen considered it bad luck to own one. The player with the most shells in their head (home base) at the end of the game is the winner.Īs I unwrapped it, I realized I didn’t really know how to play this game. Sunkga is a traditional Filipino mancala game. Still wrapped in plastic with its ₱130 price tag, my oblong-shaped traditional Filipino board game was gathering dust. I was decluttering when I found this toy I purchased from Dagupan in 2008-a sungka (pronounced as soong-kah) set.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |