Background:
Mancala is one of the oldest board games. It is believed to be 3000 years old,
but no one is sure where it originated. The game is credited to African and
Asian areas; but there is evidence of the game being played in Caribbean,
Surinam, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It is
speculated that the game could have be originally used for calculations. The
word “Mancala” is thought to be Arabic. If it is it would translate to
“transfer”, this does make sense because the game involves transferring beads
from one bowl to the other.
Mancala is known by 200 different names, and with each name the game has a
new look. The game board is traditionally made of wood, but it has been found
crafted in many different shapes. Sometimes the game was played with out a
board. In Africa the game could be played by digging the holes need out of the
ground.
www.msoworld.com/mindzeine/news/classic/mancala.html
http://ndnd.essortment.com/mancalarulespl_rcrd.htm
http://www.ccgs.com/games/mancala.htm (more information if you want it)
Play on-line: (http://www.jgames.com/mancala/)
II.
Explain game:
EGYPTIAN RULES
Use all General Rules. If a
player drops the last stone from his hand into his mancala, he gets to move
again. If a player drops the last stone into one of the empty bowls on his side
of the board, he takes that stone, plus all the stones in the opponent's bowl
directly across from his bowl and places them in his mancala (see Diagram 2).
The game ends when one player no longer has stones in his small bowls. The other
player (who still has stones on his side) places all remaining stones into his
own mancala (it is not necessarily an advantage to be the first player to empty
the six bowls).
III.
Apply to class room:
a.
Counting
b.
Fractions
c.
Adding
d.
Direction
e.
Strategy
f.
Value of Zero
IV.
Set-up