![]() This leads to the English phrase "Count and Capture" sometimes used to describe the gameplay. ![]() Mancala games share a general gameplay sequence of sowing seeds one at a time from a hole, and capturing based on the state of board. The names of individual games often come from the equipment used for instance, bao is the Swahili word meaning "board". Because of these considerations, and the fact that mancala games have reached the West from these multiple cultures, it is difficult to establish what names and rules, if any, are the "proper" ones. Historically, researchers have had difficulty separating the rules for games apart from strategic implications or favored setups, which has caused additional confusion over which games are distinct, or which names refer to the same game. Then, there are groups that give multiple games the same name sometimes one is intended to be played by men, another by women. Research in English refers to "games in the mancala family" or "mancala games", rather than "mancala variants" which would imply there is one main mancala game on which the others are based.Īdding to the confusion, widespread mancala games may go by different names in different regions, often with slight rules variations. In the West, "mancala" is often seen used as a generic name for the game "kalah". This word is used at least in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, but is not consistently applied to any one game. ![]() In fact, the name mancala is the Arab name commonly given to some games of this type the word comes form the arabic word naqala (literally "to move"). Even names which are rightly associated with certain games, such as "Awari", are frequently lifted and applied to different games. This perception is not helped by marketing which often fails to differentiate variations or gives meaningless names like " Ethiopian" or " Nigerian". People unfamiliar with mancala games commonly assume there is a particular game with the name Mancala.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |