Getting in Good Troubles with Mancala
Getting in Good Troubles with Mancala
Getting in Good Troubles with Mancala
Joseph M. Bayeck, Olu Randle, Rebecca Y. Bayeck
December, 07, 2025
Summary
This paper discusses the term “mancala “and the implication of its use as a generic term for all classic African board games with holes, and seeds. We textually analyzed recent literature on classic African board games; we address the use of “mancala” in the literature. We focused on the names of three classic African board games and discussed these games names and the historical relationship between the game name and the ethnic group to argue that history, culture, and identity erasure happen when mancala is used as a generic term to classify these games. Mancala reflects the dismissal or neglect of African communities and ethnic groups contribution to the expansion of knowledge about games and gameplay. As shown by the literature of different fields, we contend that precise and appropriate use of names limits ambiguity, and even prevents the erasure of a group’s history, creativity, and game design approach.
Reference
Bayeck, J. M., Randle, O., & Bayeck, R. Y. (2025, December 7). Getting in good troubles with Mancala. Analog Game Studies. https://analoggamestudies.org/2025/12/getting-in-good-troubles-with-mancala/