As a bit of a twist, I wanted to throw in a review on "classic" games, those games which have been around for some time and which are beloved around the world. Some common examples include chess, backgammon, or snakes and ladders. I'm going to be posting my favorites in no particular order. As usual, I've included a rundown of what I enjoy about them and a good version to pick up. They should be quite widely available, but there are always some good editions to choose.
Mancala
A truly ancient game, mancala can also be said to be a classic, being played all over the world, and once you've played a game, you'll see why. Players move sets of stones, wooden pieces, or tokens (depending on the designer) around a racetrack with two lanes marked out with round holes. Each lane ends in a large, oblong hole, sometimes called the mancala: this is what each player is trying to reach. Players lift all of the playing pieces out of the hole they are choosing to move from, and drop one in each space as they move clockwise around the board, aiming to get their pieces into the ovoid mancala.
My copy of the game. The pile I'm reaching towards is only two holes away from my mancala, and if I choose to move it, and I drop a piece in my mancala at the end of that move, I get another turn. This careful strategy is part of what makes this game such fun!
Here comes the devious part: if you end your move by dropping a piece into your mancala in this way, you get another turn. Because of this, players will manipulate the board, planning one or more turns in advance to get pieces in just the right spots to get extra turns. At the end of the game, whoever has more of the playing pieces in their mancala wins. Definitely pick this one up if you're looking for a classic game – it's got lots of strategy and, if you find a nice copy, it's beautiful to look at! I recommend Gibsons Games copy, which folds into a small, portable box, allowing you to take this game with you.
The Gibsons Games version in its box.
Interestingly, the word "mancala" is actually a bit of a misnomer when describing the game. Wikipedia describes this word as a "root word", a sort of broad mechanism which includes the mancala games rather than any single game. The article explains that mancala-type games have been found in ancient archeological sites in Israel and Africa as well as later historical sites in Europe. I will refer to mancala here, but it's curious to note that many localized, distinct versions exist. The wikipedia article notes that a Cape Verdean, Bosnian, and a more than 100-year Louisiana version survive, among others.
From Wikipedia. This is an ancient Ethiopian board, made before the end of the first millenium A.D. The wikipedia article on mancala indicates that evidence for this game in Ethiopia under the name Gebet'a dates back to the 6th and 7th centuries!
I hope that you all found this review interesting! More reviews on classic games are coming soon, not in any particular order. Let me know in the comments what other categories of games you'd like to see, whether you have memories of playing this game, or other games you'd like to see in this category or another!
Have fun gaming!
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