Mancala
Count, Capture, Play and Think: Mancala and Math
We have all had the experience of playing board games. They are the staple of family game nights and inside recesses. Board games have been around in various forms throughout history and one of the oldest is the family of count and capture games known under the umbrella term of Mancala, which is an Arabic word meaning "to move". This game can, of course be played for fun, but it can also be used in its different forms to teach simple math and strategy (University of Waterloo 2010). Mancala can be traced back to ancient Egypt in the 15th or 11th century BC. The game has been played throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Through the slave trade Mancala made its way to the Caribbean. It …show more content…
Some cultures have limitations on who plays it and who they play it with once a person reaches adulthood. In the Sudan for example, it is said that playing mancala takes commitment and woman often don't have time to play it. According to an essay written in 1952 the author observes that in the "Old World" mancala is played after the day's work is finished or when rain makes outdoor work impractical. In most places in Africa the game doesn't have a religious or superstitious nature, but in Suriname in South America it is associated with death. Mancala is played to entertain the spirit of the recently deceased while the body awaits burial (Murray, 1952); (BBC News, …show more content…
Two players sit at the long sides of the rectangle, the row in front of them is their row and the store to their right is their store. The board and tokens can be as simple as holes dug in the ground in the configuration of the board using pebbles or seeds; or as ornate as elaborately carved board and marbles. Each of the variations I will discuss have different levels of difficulty that can be used to teach the mathematics needed to win (BBC News, 2013) (University of Waterloo,
We have all had the experience of playing board games. They are the staple of family game nights and inside recesses. Board games have been around in various forms throughout history and one of the oldest is the family of count and capture games known under the umbrella term of Mancala, which is an Arabic word meaning "to move". This game can, of course be played for fun, but it can also be used in its different forms to teach simple math and strategy (University of Waterloo 2010). Mancala can be traced back to ancient Egypt in the 15th or 11th century BC. The game has been played throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Through the slave trade Mancala made its way to the Caribbean. It …show more content…
Some cultures have limitations on who plays it and who they play it with once a person reaches adulthood. In the Sudan for example, it is said that playing mancala takes commitment and woman often don't have time to play it. According to an essay written in 1952 the author observes that in the "Old World" mancala is played after the day's work is finished or when rain makes outdoor work impractical. In most places in Africa the game doesn't have a religious or superstitious nature, but in Suriname in South America it is associated with death. Mancala is played to entertain the spirit of the recently deceased while the body awaits burial (Murray, 1952); (BBC News, …show more content…
Two players sit at the long sides of the rectangle, the row in front of them is their row and the store to their right is their store. The board and tokens can be as simple as holes dug in the ground in the configuration of the board using pebbles or seeds; or as ornate as elaborately carved board and marbles. Each of the variations I will discuss have different levels of difficulty that can be used to teach the mathematics needed to win (BBC News, 2013) (University of Waterloo,