MancalaGames/List: Modern Mancala Games

Modern Mancala Games

A Survey of 88 Games:

 Game  Year  Inventor  Country  Players  Laps  Goal  Additional Information 
 Awele Bohnanza  2006  Silvano Sorrentino  Italy  2  single  capturing seeds  Oware variant 
 Diffusion  2006  Mark Steere  USA  2  single  empty pits  Kalah variant; no draws 
 Four-rank Diffusion  2006  Mark Steere  USA  2  single  empty pits  Kalah variant; no draws 
 Kauri  2006  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  single  capturing seeds  - 
 httpWayfinder  2006  Benjamin Corliss  USA  1-4  single  capturing seeds  two-dimensional; real time element 
 Cow Poke  2005  Clark D. Rodeffer  USA  2-6  single  capturing seeds  card game; luck 
 httpDa Vinci's Mancala  2005  Paul Micarelli and V. Springer  USA  2  single  pattern-building; capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 Mancala Spellorama  2005  Tracey Wood  Canada  2  multi  capturing seeds and spelling words  spelling game; Sungka variant 
 Michael's Parteiisches Rondell  2005  Michael Reitz  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; no draws 
 Michael's Rondell  2005  Michael Reitz  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; socialist board; no draws 
 Michael's Rondell mit Reservierung  2005  Michael Reitz  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; socialist board; no draws 
 Parteiisches Rondell  2005  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; no draws 
 Rondell  2005  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; subvariant with socialist board; no draws 
 Rondell mit Reservierung  2005  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  both  capturing seeds  card game with perfect information; stacking game; socialist board; no draws 
 Afrika  2004  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  single  capturing seeds  - 
 El Mirall  2004  (?)  Spain  2  single  repetition of the initial position  game of coordination; solitaire-like; no winners or losers 
 Geisterfahrer  2004  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  both  no move  Kalah variant; no draws 
 Pas de Deux  2004  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  single  capturing seeds  Oware variant; double-moves 
 ProgressiveMancala  2004  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  multi  capturing seeds  progressive moves; socialist board; no draws 
 Superwari  2004  Bill Taylor  New Zealand  2  single  capturing seeds  Oware variant 
 Two-handed Bulgarian Solitaire  2004  Tim Bancroft   USA  2  single  repetition of position  Reverse Mancala 
 Random Bulgarian Solitaire  2003  Serguei Popov   Brazil  1  single  repetition of position  Reverse Mancala 
 55Stones  2002  Ralf Gering  Germany  2  multi  capturing  simultaneous moves; socialist board; no draws 
 Canicas  2002  Walter Joris  Belgium  2  single  making territory  paper-and-pencil game 
 Cross-Endodoi  2002  W. Dan Troyka  USA  2  multi  capturing seeds  - 
 httpMartian Mancala  2002  Dave Mattingly  USA  2  multi  capturing seeds  Sungka variant 
 Tornado  2002  Walter Joris  Belgium  2  single  last move  paper-and-pencil game; Cirk variant 
 4-Player Mancala  2001 (?)  Gary MacLeod (?)  USA  2-4  single  capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 Cross-Kalah  2001  W. Dan Troyka  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 Cross-Wari  2001  W. Dan Troyka  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  Oware variant 
 Devil Bunny Hates the Earth  2001  James Ernest  USA  2-5  single  capturing; moving "Devil Bunny" to your machine  dice game; luck; socialist, pentagonal board 
 Hackaback  2001  Andrew Perkis  UK  2  single  last move  unequal forces 
 Ioiwari  2001  Gyula Horvath  Hungary  2  single  capturing seeds  solved (first-player win) 
 MiniMancala  2001  Christian Freeling  Netherlands  2  single  last move  solved (draw) 
 Tea Party  2001  Clark D. Rodeffer  USA  2 or 4  none  capturing seeds  most irregular game; no draws 
 Numercy  2000  Sam Nooh K. Al-Jajjoka  UK  2  both  ending moves in certain holes  abacus-like game for learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of numbers 
 Crossroads Mancala  early 2000s  Sue and Joe Hanson  USA  4  single  capturing seeds  cross-shaped board 
 Druidenwalzer  1999  Michael Rieneck  Germany  2  single  capturing holes  card game imitating Mancala (Druidenwalzer = Sowing) 
 Eppstein's Mancala  1999  David Eppstein  USA  2  single  unable to move  Reverse Mancala; no draws 
 Snake Game  1999  Fred Horn  Netherlands  2  single  capturing seeds  intertwisted rows 
 Banan-Cala  1998  Vince Kurr  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 httpBao Arabica  1998  Matthias Kumpernaß  Germany  2-4  single  capturing seeds   name = exotism; Oware variant 
 httpCalady  1998  Alexander H. Slocum  USA  4  single  capturing seeds  cross-shaped board; Kalah variant (versions 1-2); Oware variant (version 3) 
 Cirk  1998  Corné van Moorsel  Netherlands  2  single  last move  socialist board; no draws 
 HyperCalady  1998  Alexander H. Slocum  USA  4  single  capturing seeds  cross-shaped board; Kalah variant 
 Kid-Cala (Beginner's Version)  1998  Vince Kurr  USA  2  single  empty pits  Kalah variant 
 Space Walk  1997  Rüdiger Dorn  Germany  2-5  single  retaining seeds and chips  Kalah variant; double-moves 
 Yann's Mancala Problem  1997  David Yann  France  1  single  connecting positions  solved (yes) 
 Atomic Wari  1996  Jeff Erickson  USA  2  single  last move  Oware variant; socialist board 
 Nyakun  1996  Didier Guillion  France  2  single  capturing seeds  Vai lung thlan variant 
 Partisan Sowing  1996  Jeff Erickson  USA  2  single  last move  Sowing with partisan seeds 
 Reaping  1996  Jeff Erickson  USA  2  single  last move  reverse Sowing 
 Two-dimensional Sowing  1996  Jeff Erickson  USA  2  single  last move  variant of Sowing 
 Widdershins  1996  David Parlett  UK  2  both  capturing seeds  card game 
 Amboseli Game  1995  Ringo Skibbe  Germany  2  multi  last move  name = exotism 
 Circular Composition  1995  Rocco Servedio and Yeong-Nan Yeh   Taiwan  1  single  repetition of position  variant of Stones in Cups 
 Sowing  1994  John Horton Conway  USA  2  single  last move  first one-rank Mancala; socialist board 
 Stones in Cups  1992  Barry Cipra  USA  1  single  repetition of the initial position after all the seeds wind up in the original pit  mathematical problem 
 Njaka's Mancala  1991  Dim Njaka  USA  2-4  multi  capturing seeds  Ba-awa variant 
 Montreal Solitaire  1990  Chris Cannings and John Haigh   UK  1  single  repetition of position  Reverse Mancala 
 Gretrix  1987  (?)  USA  2-4  single  capturing seeds  two-dimensional 
 Glass Bead Game  mid-1980s  Christian Freeling  Netherlands  2  single  capturing seeds  Oware variant 
 Austrian Solitaire  1985  Ethan Akin and Morton David Davis  USA  1  single  repetition of position  Reverse Mancala 
 Deterministic Bulgarian Solitaire  1983  Martin Gardner  USA  1  single  repetition of position  Reverse Mancala 
 Balduman's Mancala  1979  Agapito B. Balduman  USA  2-3  multi  capturing seeds  Sungka variant 
 Pass It On  1978  (?)  USA  2-4  single  empty pits; penalty points  variant of Ruma and Kalah; no draws 
 Micro-Wari  1977  Assia Popova and André Deledicq  France  2  single  capturing seeds  one of the smallest Mancala 
 Monokalah  1977  Véronique Gautheron  France  1  single  empty pits  a variant of Tchoukaillon 
 Multitchouka  1977  Véronique Gautheron  France  1  multi  empty pits  a variant of Tchoukaillon 
 Nano-Wari  1977  Assia Popova and André Deledicq  France  2  single  repetition of board position  game of contemplation; smallest Mancala; no winners or losers; solved 
 Tchoukaillon  1977  Véronique Gautheron  France  1  single  empty pits  a variant of httpTchuka Ruma 
 Sahara  1976  (?)  Germany  2  single  capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 Mankka  1975  Kent Barker  Canada  2  single  capturing seeds  - 
 Octagon  1975  Matt Crispis  UK (?)  2-5  single  capturing seeds  card game 
 Ägyptisches Muschelspiel  1972  (?)  Germany  2  single  last move  name = exotism 
 Coin Duel  late 1960s  Arthur and Wald Amberstone  USA  2  multi  capturing seeds  Sungka variant 
 httpSwahili  1968  (?)  USA  2-4  both  capturing seeds  name = exotism; similar to Kalah and Sungka; no draws 
 Cups  1965  Arthur and Wald Amberstone  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  Kalah variant 
 httpGrand Arabian Oh-Wah-Ree  1962  Alex Randolph  USA  2-4  single  capturing holes  ordinary pits can be turned into stores 
 httpGrand Coastal Oh-Wah-Ree  1962  Alex Randolph  USA  2-4  single  capturing holes  Oware variant 
 httpGrand Dog-Gone Oh-Wah-Ree  1962  Alex Randolph  USA  2-4  single  capturing holes  Ba-awa variant 
 Fergen Goobalay  late 1950s  (?)  Somalia  2  multi  capturing seeds  variant of Layli Goobalay; neutral holes 
 Banking Ball Game  1941  Serge B. Escuadra  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  similar to Kalah 
 Kalah  1940  William Julius Champion Jr  USA  2  single  capturing seeds  the most popular modern Mancala game; often just called "Mancala" 
 Robertson's Mancala  1936  Frederick Henry Robertson  Jamaica  2  single  capturing seeds    
 Ruma  1930s  Mr Punga  Indonesia (?)  2-4  single  empty pits; penalty points   precursor of Pass It On and possibly Kalah; no draws 
 Chuba  1891  Erwin H. Richards  USA  2  multi  last move  four-rank Mancala heavily based on Tchouba (Mozambique); no draws 
 Mangola  1864  Walter Whitmore Jones  UK  2  single (?)  (?)  first commercial Mancala game 

Notes:

  • A socialist board is a board in which all pits are communally owned.
  • An Oware variant is any single-lap game in which two or three stones are captured (this is a rather inclusive definition).
  • A Ba-awa variant is any multi-lap games in which groups of four are captured, even during moving.
  • A Vai lung thlan variant is any single-lap game in which singletons are captured.
  • A Kalah variant is any single-lap, multi-player game with functional endholes or stores.
  • A Sungka variant is any multi-lap, multi-player game with functional endholes.
  • A Tchuka Ruma variant is any solitaire game with functional endholes.

Last edited on August 4, 2007 10:29 pm.