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Oware (in Akan language) is a Mancala (Manquala) game.
The term Mancala (also Manqala, Mankala) is derived from the Arabic term naqalah with its meaning to move an object. These class of games are well known worldwide. Nonetheless rules, structure of fields and even number of players varies from game to game.
Common aspect of these Mancala games is that a set of mostly one single sort of game tokens is distributed by some ruleset following a path from a field formed by containers holding the tokens on each player's turn.
Distribution on a player's turn is called sowing. Thus these corresponding games are known as Sowing Games, too.
The containers are often referred to being named pits, holes, depressions, houses or bowls. Some games come with different types of such containers. Mostly an additional non standard type of container is just for holding tokens representing the current player's score being larger in size then. These larger size holes might be named stores or simply Mancalas. If such stores do not exist then tokens might simply be removed from game play staying offboard for the rest of the game.
Typically the tokens are represented by some game pieces like seeds, beads, beans, nuts, stones, cowry shells, any sort of counters. Most Mancala games use undifferentiated tokens.
In case of a fixed sowing path the bowls can be indentified or ordered by a simple index numbering. If specific bowls or better the tokens inside these bowls belong to a player depending on the current game board situation then you might find terminology like a player's side or ranks or rows belonging to a player.
The rules realized in this software project currently follow these commonly known as Oware, Awari, Wari, Awélé, Awalé, Aualé, Ayò depending on the geographic origin (Ghana, Yoruba, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cabo Verde, plus other regions). Anyway the rules will be described inside the Oware application as well.
This Oware implementation uses a game board with 12 bowls in total - consisting of 2 rows having 6 bowls each. Initially each bowl holds 4 beads (Bonduc seeds).
Players' turn alternates between the two players. The player starts own sowing turns from a non empty bowl of his choice in the row next to his own side. Still he will sow beads on the other player's row, too. Sowing starts with exactly one bead per bowl following the consecutive bowls in counter clockwise direction. In case the sowing will reach the starting bowl of the turn again then this bowl is skipped each time. Such that this bowl will remain empty in the end of this player's turn.
A player will score (also called harvesting) on sowing the last bead of his turn into an opponent's bowl holding 2 or 3 beads including the last bead sown. This is done by taking these beads out of game play and scoring these. In case the previous adjacent directly following bowls (in clockwise direction) being opponent's bowls, too, and holding 2 or 3 beads these are taken away being scored as well. Reaching any other bowl without any bead, just one bead or four or more beads will end the scoring even if there are following opponent's bowls left containing 2 or 3 beads not being directly adjacent.
Taking and scoring all remaining beads of the opponent's row completely at once is strictly forbidden and the player will lose immediately. Even if the player gets the majority of total beads this way the player will lose immediately. Thus after scoring at least one bead must be left over on the opponent's row.
Assumed the opponent ends his turn removing the last bead on his row by himself: The opponent's move is totally valid and game continues. In such a case then a player is not allowed to end his turn without a remaining bead for the opponent's turn if avoidable. Such that the player is forced to prefer any move that gives at least one bead being sown in an opponent's bowl then. In case this is not possible the game ends and the player with the higher score wins.
By mutual agreement players can end the game, too. In that case each player scores the remaining beads on the own row. The player scoring higher wins.
Which means that the game could be a draw.
If you are looking forward to getting a typical Oware game (Ghana) then the chance is quite high that the board shall be made of dark nearly black Sese (Esese, Osese) wood carved manually. Such handcrafted Oware sets are available in simple travel editions made of two similar half boards that can be folded to hold the game tokens securely then. Often these boards come along with crafted and carved traditional themed patterns or motifs. Typical tokens could be nickernuts. These are tropical seeds of a shrub called Bonduc (Latin, botanical: Caesalpinia bonduc). Bonduc seeds are widely used for traditional African jewellery due to it's clay alike precious look and can be found as a medical ingredient as well. Such that there is a good chance of getting a spare set of Bonduc seeds if for some reason yours get incomplete.
The more puristic travel edition could be to simply form some pits on a sandy beach and use any type of tokens you prefer of course. This solution is surely quite traditional, too.
Surely some priceless unique or antique Oware sets up to the size of a whole table can be found. Watch out and find some of these gems using your preferred web search engine.
The international Oware Society is located at
- Mailing Address: OWS, 6 Kiloh Court, Meyrick Road, London, SW11 2EE.
- http://www.oware.org/