> > Help! My grandson, Chris, got a new game called Mancala and it didn't have any directions in it. Does anybody know how to play it? It consists of a folding wooden board with cups cut into it and a number of glass "jewels." It was made by Pressman Toy Corp. I wonder if it should have dice or cards or something that went wherever the directions went.
> > Howard
>
> Here's a web page with the rules and some other info.
>
> famous

OOOHHHHH!!!! I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!

Sorry to yell, but I got all excited when I saw this post. This is my favorite game of all time!!!

Beware though Howard. There are *many* different variations of this game. And just as many names for it. What I'd do if I were you is go to your favorite search engine and do a search for it. It'll come back with all sorts of things from Mancala to Wari and a lot in between. Each has it's own set of rules, but they are all played with the same board and stones. I'd gather the rules together and play them until you find the set you both like. My favorite set of rules I am going to type below.

First a *little* history. This is one of the oldest games known to man. Played in Africa, Egypt, China, and just about everywhere else on the planet. With this great of a spread, and so many different cultures playing it, you can imagine the variations that have developed.

It has been played just by digging actual pits into the ground and using small stones. And then it has been played by Kings on elaborate boards of Gold, Ivory, and the like. It has been mere entertainment, and it has been a right-of-passage. The board is meant to represent the Earth. The pits are furrows. The glass peices are seeds. When you distribute the seeds around the board you are "sowing" the seeds. Whenever you capture your opponents pieces you are "harvesting."

Ok, the long pits at each end are your Mancala's (Again, these go by a lot of names). Each player starts with his/her Mancalas empty and three (3) seeds in each pit. It is decided who goes first and that player chooses a pit on his/her side to pick up the seeds and "sow" them counter-clockwise. One seed is dropped into each of the succesive pits and *does* use the pits on the opponents side. The player drops a seed into his/her Mancala but skips the opponents. If the *last* piece falls into the Mancala, the player gets another turn. If the last piece falls into an empty pit on his/her own side, and there are seeds in the pit directly across on the opponents side, the player who dropped the last seed "harvests" the opponents seeds to his/her own Mancala and the turn is over. When *all* the seeds are gone from one side of the board, the remaining seeds are placed into the Mancala of the player whose side they are on and the score is tallied by counting the total number of seeds in each Mancala. Whoever has the most is, of course, the winner.

Now again this is only my favorite set of rules. You'll find a set that you both are comfortable with. This is a very fun and addictive game. My 8 year old daughter has been playing for about 3 years now and I'm going to teach my son probably over Christmas. It is simple to learn. The concept is great. And on one level it only takes simple counting skills to master. But on the strategic level it rivals chess.

I suggest this game to anyone looking for a new game. It is a relatively cheap investment, and you can find a simple folding board like Howard was talking about at Wal-Mart for around $10.00. But the game itself, as far as I am concerned, is priceless.

Enjoy it Howard. And let me know what you think.

Drac "My daughter beats me about 3 games out of 10, and she's only 8" imas