
Winning MancalaĪs soon as all wells on one side of the game board are empty, the game is over.Īny remaining tokens on the other side belong to the player who the side belongs to. If your last stone lands in your own mancala, you may take another turn. Place all the captured tokens and the capturing token into your own mancala. If you place the last token of your turn in an empty well on your side of the board, you capture all of the tokens in your opponent’s well directly across from it. This includes placing one in your own mancala, but not your opponent’s.Ĭapture as many of your opponent’s tokens you can (as outlined in the next step). Moving clockwise, players will place one Mancala token in each well until you run out of tokens. On each turn, a player will take all the tokens from a cup on their side of the board. The six small wells closest to each player and the mancala on their right side belong to them. Easy enough, right?īut be aware, playing Mancala requires some strategy if you want to win! The Set-UpĮach player sits opposite each other, with the long sides of the board facing them.įour tokens are placed in each of the twelve small wells in the center of the board, leaving the two large wells at the ends, known as mancalas, empty. The objective of the game is just to have the most tokens in your mancala (or your well) at the end of the game.
RULES FOR MANCALA HOW TO
Then I’ll tell you how to make your own board! It only takes a few minutes to play a game of Mancala, so we find ourselves playing it a lot.Īs much as I love my wooden game board, we discovered that it’s quite easy and inexpensive to make your own DIY Mancala game using items your either already have at home or can find at your local dollar store.įirst, I’ll explain the Mancala rules. We keep my lovely wooden game board in our living room, available for play whenever any of us want to start a game. I’ve had that same game in my home for over 20 years now. When I went off to college and spotted a gorgeous wooden Mancala game board at my local mall, I bought it immediately. He used to make a joke out of beating me, which he ALWAYS managed to do. I was introduced to this game when I was in high school by my dear friend Brandon. Evidence of its origins date back to some of the oldests civilizations in the world. Mancala is considered the oldest board game that is still being played today. It really does work well for LOTS of ages. I’ve seen it used in girl scout groups, homeschool co-ops, and even at senior citizen centers as a craft project! Making your own mancala board is also a great project for groups. The game of Mancala is great in the classroom, since it reinforces math skills, logic, and strategy.



Mancala rules are simple and straightforward, and almost any age group can easily figure it out. Mancala is actually a lot of fun to play and is super easy to learn. Mancala is basically a two player strategy game that involves moving tokens between holes or pits, with the object being to capture as many of your opponent’s tokens as you can. In today’s post, you’re going to learn Mancala Rules and how to make your own Mancala board at home, using just a few simple materials!
