Bao Kiswahili (East Africa)
(Bao, Bau, Bao Ki Swahili, Mraha Wa Tso)DLP Game
PeriodModern
RegionEastern Africa
CategoryBoard, Sow, Four rows
Description
Bao Kiswahili is a four-row mancala-style game popular throughout East Africa. It is widely known as one of the more complex and difficult-to-master games in the world.
Rules
4x8 board. The fourth hole from the right in the inner rows of each player is larger and square. Total of 64 counters. Starting position: in the inner row, the first four holes, number of counters from the right: 0; 2; 2; 6. Play begins with each player alternately introducing the remaining counters in their holes. Each is introduced in such a way as to capture an opponent's counters, by placing it into an occupied hole which is opposite one of the opponent's occupied inner-row holes. The opponent's counters are then captured and sown along the inner row from either the leftmost or rightmost hole. If the capture occurs in the rightmost or leftmost holes in the inner row, or the hole immediately adjacent to them in the inner row, the counters must be sown from the leftmost or rightmost hole (whichever is closest), and sown along the inner row. Captures on these subsequent sowings happen according to the same rules as in the second phase, with certain exceptions explained below. If no capture is available, a counter may be placed in any occupied hole in the inner hole except the square hole, and sows them in either direction. If the square hole is the only occupied hole in the inner row, the counter is placed there and the player sows only two seeds from it in either direction. If a loaded square hole is reduced to six counters, the player places a counter there and sows the entire contents, forfeiting the special status for this hole for the rest of the game. Moves that start without a capture on the first sowing which end in the square hole stops there without further sowing. Sowing cannot start from a square hole except to capture, except as described above. If a sowing from an initial capturing move ends in an occupied square hole and no capture is possible, the player may choose to stop there or continue to sow. Once the contents of this hole have been relayed or captured the square hole loses its special status and the player may not introduce a counter into hole with one counter if there are other holes in the inner row containing multiple counters. Once all of the counters are introduced, second phase starts. Players move by sowing seeds from a player's holes. Sowing can happen in any direction, but must continue in that direction throughout the turn except in the special cases below. When the final counter of a sowing lands in a hole in the inner row and there are counters in the opponent's hole in the inner row opposite, these are captured. The captured counters are placed in the leftmost or rightmost hole of the inner row and sown along the inner row. The leftmost or rightmost hole is chosen based on which continues the sowing direction of the move that made the capture. If the capture occurs in the rightmost or leftmost holes in the inner row, or the hole immediately adjacent to them in the inner row, the counters must be sown from the leftmost or rightmost hole (whichever is closest), and sown along the inner row, even if this incurs a change of direction. If the final counter lands in an occupied hole and a capture is not possible, the counters are picked up and sowing continues. If the final counter lands in an empty hole, the turn ends. A player must make a capturing move on their initial sowing if it is available. If a capturing move is not possible on the first sowing, no captures can be made on subsequent sowings in that turn. The game is won when the opponent's inner row is cleared of counters.
Sanderson 1913: 726-731.
Ludeme Description
Bao Kiswahili (East Africa).lud
Concepts
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Reference
Murray 1951: 220-223.
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Sources
de Voogt, A. 2019. 'The Comoros: A confluence of board game histories.' Board Game Studies 13: 1–13.
Sanderson, M. 1913. "Native Games of Central Africa." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 43: 726-736.
Townshend, P. 1986. Games in culture: A contextual analysis of the Swahili board game and its relevance to vaariation in African mankala. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.
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