Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played one of my all-time favorites, Mancala!
Zoey needed a little guidance, but she was able to grasp this game even though she’s under the age recommendation of 6 and up! And she won! Go Zoey!
When I’m researching the rules for these games I’ve played since childhood, I am discovering that I’ve been playing them differently for years! For example, I had not put the “captured” stones in our stores, just continued playing with them! Either way is still fun though!
So let’s play!
IN THE BOX
- 48 stones
- A game board
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place four stones in each of the 12 pockets on the game board.
- Each player has a store (or Mancala) to the right, on their side of the Mancala board.
- The game begins with one player picking up all of the stones in any one of the pockets on their side.
- Moving counter-clockwise, the player deposits one of the stones in each pocket until the stones run out.
- f you run into your own Mancala (store), deposit one stone in it. If you run into your opponent’s Mancala, skip it and continue moving to the next pocket.
- If the last stone you drop is into your own Mancala, you take another turn.
- If the last stone you drop is in an empty pocket on your side, you “capture” any stones in the pocket directly opposite. Place these captured stones into your Mancala.
- The game ends when all six pockets on one side of the Mancala board are empty.
- The player who still has stones on his/her side of the board when the game ends captures all of those stones into their Mancala.
- Count all the stones in each Mancala, the player with the most stones wins!
ENJOY!
Whole Heartily 