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- ~ MANCALA
- ~ -------
-
- Mancala is a two-player strategy game
- with its origin in Africa.
-
- It has simple rules, but can require
- some skill to master. The board is
- divided into two halves, with Player 1
- on the near-side, and Player 2 on
- the far-side. There are also two
- home cups, the one on the right is
- Player 1's home.
-
- All variations are based on the
- principal of sowing. Sowing is done
- by picking up all the stones in a cup
- of your choice, and then dropping
- them one-by-one in the adjacent cups,
- including/excluding the home cups, in
- an anti-clockwise direction. Whether
- the home cups are included depends on
- the variation of the rules.
-
- In all variations each player starts
- with 4 stones in each of his cups, and
- 0 stones in his home cup.
-
- Play continues until one player has
- more than 24 stones, or nobody can
- move on his turn.
-
- This game supports three variations
- of Mancala:
-
-
- `1. AWARI
-
- Awari is the simplest and easiest
- of the Mancala variations.
-
- Players takes turn in sowing their
- stones, with the purpose to capture
- as many stones as possible. Sowing
- includes the home cups.
- Stones are captured if your last
- stone after a sowing lands in an
- empty cup, then all stones in the cup
- directly opposite this last cup is
- captured and placed in your home cup.
- This last stone is also placed in
- your home cup.
-
- If your last stone lands in your own
- home cup, then you have another turn,
- before the other player plays.
-
- `2. AYO
-
- Ayo, is a bit more difficult than
- Awari, but easier than Oware.
-
- Again players take turn in sowing
- their stones from any chosen cup,
- but sowing doesn't include the home
- cups. To capture your opponent's
- stones your last stone have to land
- in a cup, on your opponent's side
- with 1 or 2 stones in it, (2 or 3
- after your stone landed there). If
- the penultimate cup also contains
- 2 or 3 stones, and the cup before it
- etc. all these stones are captured,
- but not the stones opposite, like in
- Awari. Note that stones can only be
- captured on the opponent's side of
- the board, not on your own side.
-
- `3. OWARE
-
- Oware is the most difficult of the
- Mancala variations supported, and
- should be tried after mastering the
- first two variations.
-
- Again players takes turns sowing
- from the cup of their choice. Sowing
- excludes the home cups.
-
- To capture stones your last stone
- have to land in a cup containing
- exactly 3 stones (4 after sowing).
- These 4 stones are then captured and
- placed in your home cup. If the last
- stone lands in and empty cup, or if
- you capture stones, it is the end of
- your move.
-
- The real difference comes when your
- last stone lands in a cup containing
- 1,2 or 4+ stones. You then take up
- these stones and keep on sowing from
- there with them. You keep on sowing
- like this, until the last stone lands
- in and empty cup or a cup with 3
- stones.
-
- While you are sowing, if you ever sow
- a stone into a cup containing exactly
- three stones, the player on whose side
- these stones are, can take them, and
- place them in his own home cup.
-
-