The word Mancala refers to a group of games that come from Africa, so talking about Mancala games is the same as talking about domino games or card games. The game is played on a board and it most commonly known in the UK as Mancala, Oware, ware, Ware, Wari or the misspelt Worry. The most common mancala board is two rank, with two rows of six holes and two store pits on either side. There are variations to this board, you can have more holes on either side or more rows, to create four rank mancala ards.There are rules and instructions for a few different games below.R.C Bell, in Board and Table Games from Many Civilisations describes how Awari has traditional spiritual significance. It is played in a house of mourning to amuse the spirit of the dead before it is buried. It is very unlucky to play the game at night as the spirits will want to join in and may carry off the living at the end of the game. Each village would have two types of board, one with a flat top and one with a curved top, a bit like a banana. When a man died the villagers would play on the board that was not his favourite, so that his spirit would not want to join in. Traditional Awari boards are not carved out very intricately so that they can become smooth and worn by many years of play,

Address:
Website: http://www.compendia.co.uk/Mancala.htm