Naqala, an Arabic word meaning 'to move,' lends itself to a world-wide family of games known collectively as Mancala. There are vast variations in the basic game's name, play and complexity, however Mancala is essentially a counting game.
One aspect of Mancala's wide appeal is the fact that it can be played with whatever materials happen to be around. Across Asia, and Africa (where it probably originated), Mancala is played in hollows scooped out of the earth with seeds, pebbles or shells for counters. Some boards are even moulded from animal dung!
In contrast to these modest, lowly materials, Mancala boards are found in wood, metal, pottery, clay and stone.
Explore the gallery of Mancala boards to find out more about the game and its massive following throughout history and across the globe.
Nigeria
Early 20th century
In Africa, Mancala is often called Wari. It tends to be played by men. There are quite literally hundreds of tribal and regional variations with different numbers of rows on the board, and different ways of sowing and capturing the seeds.
A crocodile of gaudily painted wood with two rows of six large seed cups on his back. The board was made by the Hausa people from Yoruba.
