Running Mancala: Sow Balls Across Hoops

A movement version of mancala, one of Africa's oldest board games: two rows of six hoops with four balls each and a store at each end. On their turn, the runner scoops up all the balls in one hoop on their side and sows them one by one into the following hoops on the run, while the team works out which hoop yields the most captures.

How to play

1. Lay out two parallel rows of six hoops 2 m apart with a store hoop at each end; put four balls in each hoop (3 min).
2. Introduce the game's origin and basic rules: sow counterclockwise, if the last ball lands in your own store you go again, and if it lands in an empty hoop on your side you capture the balls in the opposite hoop (4 min).
3. Two simultaneous games of 7 versus 7: each team has a strategist who picks the hoop and a different runner each turn, who sows ball by ball moving quickly (6 min).
4. Switch strategists and play a new game; each team may call one 20-second timeout per game to calculate (5 min).
5. Count the stores and analyze: which move chained turns or captures and how it was worked out (2 min).

Rules

• Balls are placed in the hoop, never thrown.
• The runner moves around the outside of the rows so as not to step in the hoops.
• The strategist has 15 seconds to decide; otherwise the opponents choose.
• Runners rotate in order so everyone takes part.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: act as strategist and, as runner, sow with a partner who hands over the balls.
• Visual impairment: a partner calls out how many balls are in each hoop and they sow guided by touching the hoop rims.
• Dyscalculia: the team uses a card with the sowing path drawn on it to count the hoops.

Learning goals

• Work out the consequences of a move before making it.
• Learn a traditional game from another culture and its heritage value.
• Coordinate decision-making and execution within the team.

Equipment for a class of 25

• hoops: 14
• balls: 48
• cones: 4

Teacher tip

Mancala is a family of games (oware, kalah) found across Africa, Asia and the Americas: you can ask a group to research a variant for the next session. Old tennis balls or beanbags work well.

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