The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World's Oldest Board Games [Paperback]

Larry Russ (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 1999

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Larry Russ, Ph.D., is Dean of Undergraduate Academics at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. Alexander J. DeVoogt, Ph.D., lives in the Netherlands.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569246831
• ISBN-13: 978-1569246832
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,165,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sowing seeds, January 8, 2001

By 

Lee Hachadoorian (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World's Oldest Board Games (Paperback)

A few years ago I was at a friend's game night, and one of the guests pulled out a mancala set, at the same time putting the game down as "mindless". I took issue with her characterization and went on to beat her soundly, so I guess for her the game was mindless.

A couple of years later I read about Russ' book in the excellent book New Rules for Classic Games. Since it was out of print, I immediately went looking for it in used book stores and on used book websites. I couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, this new edition came out. I immediately bought a copy, and I haven't been disappointed.

The most interesting thing to find out is that the rules most mancala sets come with, which some people consider childishly simple and which do have a strong first move advantage, are not even found in this book. Different mancala games feature different rules for movement, capture, and objective, and most mancala sets come with a set of rules combining the simplest features from each of these categories, resulting in a shallow, boring game.

Mancala Games goes a long way toward rectifying that. Not one game, but many different games played on similar boards (think of all the games you can play on a rectangular grid), mancala games vary from children's games to adult games of astonishing complexity. Some are better than others--you won't like every game in this book, but you'll definitely have hours of fun trying them all out before you settle on a few favorites.

The author includes strategy tips for a few of the games, usually when introducing a group of games with a fundamentally different style of play, but for the most part the book is just a catalog of rules. The only reason I didn't give it five stars (and without any competing titles, I'd recommend it to game buffs in any event), is that the games could be catalogued better. Each game could have a standard heading that included the style of capture, the objective, a complexity rating, etc. Or this information could be captured in a table at the end of the book that matrixed each game with its key features.

Also every game is given its own heading, so that a game's description is frequently followed by two or three other games with descriptions that read "This game is played by the So-and-so people of Such-and-such country by the rules just given for the last game." Several entries could profitably be collapsed into one entry, and a rules-and-variations approach (like that found in many games compendiums) would make it easier to see how games are related to each other.

Nonetheless, the rules as they are presented are quite clear. This book is an absolute must for board game fans and families.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb game of intellect, March 25, 2000

By 

Enrique Munoz Ramirez - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World's Oldest Board Games (Paperback)

I've read the older copy, and if this is anything like the original, then every Mancala player should get it. Not too hard to learn the basics, and really easy to get into the harder stragadies. The game itself provides hours of fun. I learned this game from my Philipino friends, and eventually learned 9 different games using the same board. (I'm so good, I beat the philipino grandfathers who has been playing this game for years) The variations are endless. Give it whirl.