Mancala, a general term given to a variety of board games that make use of pits and pebbles for its counting oriented gameplay, is believed by some experts to have originated in ancient Egypt, though others claim the origin to be Central America. [Source] Whatever the origin, the game is very simple to learn and therefore just about anyone can play.
Mancala Snails is a cute Flash version of Mancala that uses snails as pebbles and drawn squares as pits. The graphics are quite pleasant to look at, and there are two different modes of play: single player against the computer, and multiplayer where two people can play by taking turns with the mouse. This particular game was produced by RocketSnail games—hence the Snails motif—and they even have a classic Mancala game available at their site for the purists out there.
Jay,
Have you ever beaten the computer on master level when the computer goes first?
I don't think it can be done!
Dylan - lol! I can't even beat the game on Regular, and so I don't think I even tried Master. But it must be possible to beat it since the AI must play by the rules. So, if you were to play at the same level as the AI plays, then theoretically you should be able to beat it half the time. =)
Unless, of course, there is an advantage to going first.
I think there is an advantage.
I'll play a thousand more games and let you know.
I played once on each level and I find the Master the most easy one - I won 40:8
This game uses even more simpler rules as Bantumi on Nokia cell phones... So It's lot easier to play. Thou I must admit I start first... You cannot loose if you start first... Well you can if you have no clue as to what you are doing :P
I could give out the winning 2 opening moves but that would spoil the fun :)
Having the computer go first on Master level is nearly impossible. The best I have ever managed is a tie. And that was one tied game out of many dozens of losses. Starfire is right, it's tough to loose when you start first.
I've found the most even challenge is to play on Medium level with the computer starting first.
yes, it can be done. done it twice now, and can repeat. :) now i can go on with my life!
jump:)
Hi. Rockin' site. :D We actually have a game like mancala here in southeast Asia. In the Philippines, we call it sungka, and we play it with the wooden board with 14 pits. :D
just beat master with the computer going first 28 to 20...the key is to stop the computer from getting too many free turns.
I beat it on hard with the sequence ("1" signifies the endzone that you can score in, "6" the farthest one)
5 2 3 2 3 6 3 2
There is always a way of winning the game every time if you start off with advantage. Thats why the game is so hard when the PC starts, it has almost got the ultimate winning strategy.
This applies to every game, even chess (the strategy just hasn't been figured out yet).
Somehow the Master level ended up being easier than the regular
The computer is predictable
Fun game!
i beat the computer in master and it went 1st
I don't think it matters who goes first. It's mainly about skill. Don't set your mind on only cheats and spoilers- just trust your own stradegy.
Update