How to Play Mancala

The name Mancala is a rough translation of the Arabic 'to move' which is exactly what's involved when playing the traditional African game of Mancala. Even very young children can learn how to play Mancala, although there are some variations depending on which country you are playing it in, and whilst children can learn to play, it does take a bit of time and skill to learn the strategies required to play successfully. One of the reasons of the popularity of Mancala is that it can be played in the ground using little more than stones as play pieces making it accessible to everyone, rich or poor. This video shows you how to play Mancala in a series of step by step instructions.

We have an online version of Mancala you can then play and even a selection of traditional Mancala games to buy at our store. To watch some children playing Mancala see the video below.