All About Mancala discusses the history, culture, and basic elements of mancala. This is followed by illustrated instructions for over games and their variations. While African and Asian versions are discussed in detail, there is also an extensive section on the often overlooked American variations. Every game has been tested for playability. Comments on strategy are also included.
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From the Publisher
All About Mancala is one of only two published books entirely devoted to mancala. It is unique in its inclusion of variations played in the United States and includes a four-person version developed by the authors.
From the Author
All About Mancala is intended to be more than a cookbook of game rules. We reviewed every game included in the book and tested it for "playability". Our comments on the games and strategy are also included.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mancala,
By
This review is from: All About Mancala: Its History and How to Play (Paperback)
I found the book to be fasinating and informative. Our family played Mancala the way the children learned to play it at the YMCA.Beside the history of the game the book taught us several other ways to play...and there is even a four player Mancala set which we recently purchased....one for us and one for the YMCA!
Seldom do you take the time to learn the history of a game.When I saw the book it was a "must have" and I'm so glad that I bought it.In this day and age we seem so busy running from place to place with little thought given to what we're doing.The book and the game have brought HOURS of family fun and entertainment into our home.Some folks who happened to have visited us while we were in the middle of a game became so intrigued with the game that while we played they read some of the book....then purchased both for Christmas gifts. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn about and play MANCALA!
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
not really technical,
This review is from: All About Mancala: Its History and How to Play (Paperback)
This book has some nice pictures and lists a lot of would-be kalah games. But there are two problems: 1) Even with an example or two of play, there is no analysis of the game or its strategies at all. Not for any of them, not even one. 2) Even with an introduction which carefully explains that it is a game for men (although little children are encouraged to play with it) the game sketches uniformly refer to the south player as "he" and the north player as "she." This Femspeak is totally distracting. If you want to know what Kalah is really all about, look eksewhere, although a really good book may be hard to find!
5.0 out of 5 stars
...increasing interest in Mancala...,
By
This review is from: All About Mancala: Its History and How to Play (Paperback)
I have found that Mancala is a naturally fun game in lots of social settings - indoors on a rainy day or outdoors under the shade of a maple tree on inviting days...The Hansons' book contributes greatly to those fun times with the game history, their person history, and other tidbits of 'gossip' about this ancient game activity that I and others can interject into the conversation while the game unfolds...And, it's fun to suggest some of the variations that seem cultural/geographical based and unusual!...I guess I would have to concur with one of the points made by a critic of this book, in that some discussion of strategies might have been helpful...For example, I was looking for 'opening moves', and some of their counter moves!...It seemed like I (as a novice) was noting some trends and wondered about possible analyses that the authors might have provided...Maybe in the sequel?...Or, collect some online data by starting a blog and getting experts to contribute their strategies, or encourage online games and 'analyze' the strategies used by the players!...Thanx Hansons for providing a lot of information and inspiration related to this fun, ancient, but still relevant game, Mancala...
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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last stone sown, stones from cup, last stone lands, mancala gameboards, leftmost cup, stones from any one, mancala originated, rightmost cup, cleared her side, about mancala, counterclockwise around the board, loaded cup, cross capturing, bonus cup, stones counterclockwise, disable games, restricted cups, series capturing, backup capture, mancala games, strategic setup, cross capture, preceding cup, mancala board, captured stones Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cross Capture Mancala, All About Mancala, Simple Capture Mancala, Southeast Asia, United States, Burnt House Sungka, Middle East, Crossroads Mancala, New World, Pallanguli Rounds, Board Setup, Happy Viking, One-round Adi, One-round Gabata, One-round Pallanguli, One-round Mankala'h, Mankala'h Rounds, Adi Rounds, One-round Wan, Sulus Nishtaw, Nasty Capture Crossroads, One-round Wari, American Two-row Games, African Two-row Games, South America Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
last stone sown, stones from cup, last stone lands, mancala gameboards, leftmost cup, stones from any one, mancala originated, rightmost cup, cleared her side, about mancala, counterclockwise around the board, loaded cup, cross capturing, bonus cup, stones counterclockwise, disable games, restricted cups, series capturing, backup capture, mancala games, strategic setup, cross capture, preceding cup, mancala board, captured stones Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cross Capture Mancala, All About Mancala, Simple Capture Mancala, Southeast Asia, United States, Burnt House Sungka, Middle East, Crossroads Mancala, New World, Pallanguli Rounds, Board Setup, Happy Viking, One-round Adi, One-round Gabata, One-round Pallanguli, One-round Mankala'h, Mankala'h Rounds, Adi Rounds, One-round Wan, Sulus Nishtaw, Nasty Capture Crossroads, One-round Wari, American Two-row Games, African Two-row Games, South America Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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