Solid Wood Mancala
Written: May 04 '02
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Pros: Foldable, portable, exquisite gemstones
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: The oldest game in the world with many ways to play for two people
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| bonniesayers's Full Review: Cardinal Deluxe Traveling Wood Mancala 181 |
Last summer I learned of the game Mancala and found this Cardinal Deluxe Traveling Wood Mancala 181 in a bargain bin at a local store for $3.99. There are six colored sets of eight gemstones consisting of purple, gray, yellow, burgundy, blue and green. The board is made of solid wood and heavy to pick up and cart around for a small child.
The recommended age is from four to adult for two players with caution advised for those under the age of three, due to the size of the gemstones that pose a choking hazard. The gemstones are pleasing to the eye and have a nice feel to them. The burgundy and green ones are a bit smaller sized than the other four. I am unsure of the actual color of this burgundy one upon further examination and my son thinks it is red.
I learned a great deal on the history of the game from reading at http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Mancala.htm. The Cardinal Deluxe Traveling Wood Mancala 181 contains twelve rounded slots that are referred to as cups. The board folds in half so there are three on each side of the hinge for each player, making a total of six cups for each player. Located at the left and right sides of the board are wider slots, which are called Mancala. Although on a website I found they state this is called kalaha.
When starting to play Mancala the two players divide up the number of gemstones (24) and place four of them into each cup in front of them. It is not mentioned anywhere that I have searched that the colors of the gemstones cannot be different. This actually makes it more colorful on the solid wood base. The first player will pick up the four gemstones from any of their six cups and place each gemstone in a counter-clockwise direction into another cup. The tricky part is these are placed in their own cups and not the opposing player’s.
Once the four gemstones are dispersed into the next four cups the player either goes again if he places the last gemstone in their own Mancala. This has confused me because they are only to place them in their own cups but if the cup is empty for the last gemstone the player than gets to remove the opponent’s gemstones in the cup directly across from their own. All those gemstones are then placed in the player’s Mancala.
You would think the player with no more gemstones in their Mancala is the winner but once one of the players has depleted their gemstone stash in any of their cups the game is over. This does not include the gemstones in their Mancala. The other player will than take all their gemstones and place them into their Mancala to decide which player has the most gemstones in his or her own Mancala to be named the winner of the game.
This is too difficult for my seven year-old son to grasp, plus he prefers to play another way he decided before I had finished the instructions the first time I opened this Cardinal Deluxe Traveling Wood Mancala 181. He figured the challenge of the game was to drop down a handful of the gemstones and count how many made it to the cups. My son has more fun doing this and I gather likes the sound of the gemstones landing on the cups. What he does is transfer the landed gemstones to the Mancala slot for counting to see how he can beat himself the next time.
My almost six-year old son likes to touch and organize the gemstones by color and line them up along the carpet in whatever room he sees fit. I feel for kids that are not able to comprehend the game of Mancala or have lower capabilities, there are other ways to utilize the solid wood game board of Mancala. You can sort and count the gemstones for use in mathematical problems and arrange in nice groups according to color.
Since my younger son has sensory and texture issues, I am happy that he likes to pick up and handle the gemstones. We make a game of it where I place all the gemstones in the cups and he takes them out. The solid wood board should not be played around with because it will hurt your fingers if you get caught when it is folded up. The gemstones fit easily in the cups and Mancala when folded up and stored in the Cardinal Deluxe Traveling Wood Mancala 181.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3.99
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens
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bonniesayers
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