Morabaraba game

Morabaraba is a two player traditional African game associated with enhancing problem solving skills of an individual. It is one of the oldest games in the world, dating back thousands of years. In Botswana (Southern Africa), Morabaraba was considered as a sport for women but the game has also contributed immensely in basic mathematics for primary schools and informal education. The game consists of holes carved on the ground with stones which are used in the game play. This is the electronic version and consists of holes carved on a wooden block and pebbles used to play the game.

HOW TO PLAY:

Morabaraba consists of two sets of 12 holes and 36 small stones. Each player moves the stones in their set of holes in a clockwise direction and collects them into one accumulation hole (Jelo).

The player who manages to accumulate all their stones first is the winner.

1. To begin, each hole starts off with three stones.

2. The two players then decide who will play first.

3. The first player chooses and marks their collection point.

4. The other player does likewise.

5. The first player then picks stones from any hole, except the collection point, and starts distributing them one stone into each hole in a clockwise direction.

6. If the last stone goes into a hole that has stones in it, and is not the accumulation hole, the player picks all the stones in that hole and continues.

7. If the last stone goes into the accumulation hole, the player can continue by picking stones from any hole but not the collection point

8. If the last stone lands in an empty hole, it is the opponent’s chance to play following the same rules