"Mancala is an ancient board game, originating in Egypt around this book discounts the history and culture of mancala as well as the elements of the game. It teaches you how to play with instructions for over 100 variations, illustrated examples, and comments on strategy. It is a comprehensive guide to this ancient and still popular game."

Mancala has been played for thousands of years. The Complete Mancala Games Book contains descriptions and clearly written rules for both the most popular two-row Mancala games and the rarer three- and four-row versions.

Mancala, the National Game of Africa, has been considered an important book throughout the human history. So that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. The whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. This book is not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.

“[A] timely book . . . a wonderfully entertaining trip around the board, through 4,000 years of game history.” —The Wall Street Journal Board games have been with us even longer than the written word. But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification? In It’s All a Game, Tristan Donovan, British journalist and author of Replay: The History of Video Games, opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games—from chess to Monopoly to Risk and more—have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations. “Splendid . . . A quick and breezy read, it doesn’t just tell the fascinating stories of the (often struggling) individuals who created our favorite games. It also manages to convey the entire sweep of board game history, from the earliest forms of checkers to modern-day surprise hits like Settlers of Catan.” —Mashable “Artfully weaves together culture, business, and ways games impact society.” —Booklist “A fascinating and insightful discussion not only of games past, but the socioeconomic and historical factors that contributed to their popularity.” —Chicago Review of Books

A retelling of a traditional Eritrean tale in which a young goatherd disobeys his father by inadvertently trading away the board game that was supposed to keep him out of trouble.

Board games have been played throughout the world for thousands of years. Many times, in many different cultures, people have amused themselves by devising mock races, battles and hunts, played in miniature on a small surface. The rules and the level of sophistication has changed through the ages, but the general idea has remained the same. Some of the oldest games, like backgammon, chess and draughts, are still popular today. This book looks at twelve different games taken from various periods of history. Most will not be recognised by the general public, but deserve to be better known. They are pachisi, halma, agon, tâb, fanorona, nine men's morris, wari, konane, xiang qi, tablut, asalto and renju. Each game has a whole chapter to itself, which includes a history, the rules, and a section on strategy and tactics. It is the author's intention that the reader will gain appreciation and enthusiasm for these wonderful old games, and be entertained by them for years to come.

Describes the rules of Warri (Oware) plus the various strategies and tactics for winning the game.