Alexander Johan de Voogt
From Wikinfo
Alexander Johan de Voogt (often shortened to Alex J. de Voogt) is the most renowned mancala researcher besides Philip Townsend.
De Voogt was born on May 3, 1970, in te Baarn, Netherlands. He began to study African languages at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden in 1988, then pursued Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Oceania, Hawaii (USA), and eventually graduated in 1995 with an Ph.D. in Psychology writing his dissertation about Bao mastership at Leiden University, Netherlands.
De Voogt learnt Bao during a Swahili course and fieldwork study on Zanzibar, Tanzania, in 1990, which remained his main research interest ever since. Other mancala games he studied are Katro (Madagascar), Owela (Namibia), Warri (Barbados), Hawalis (Oman), Ohvalhu (Maldives), Olinda (Sri Lanka) and recently A-i-ú (Brazil; personal communication with R. Gering 2006).
De Voogt is a member of the International Society for Board Game Studies and the editor of its journal Board Game Studies, the only journal for the scientific study of the history and development of board games around the world. He was the initiator of the Colloquium Board Games in Academia, now Board Game Studies Colloquium, and organized the first two in 1995 and 1997 at Leiden University.
De Voogt is also known as an excellent Bao player and has collected numerous mancala boards.
Publications by de Voogt
- Donkers, H. H. L. M., Voogt, A. J. de & Uiterwijk, J. W. H. M.
- Human versus Machine Problem-Solving: Winning Openings in Dakon. Board Games Studies 2000; 3: 79-88.
- Donkers, H. H. L. M., Uiterwijk, J. W. H. M. & Voogt, A. J. de.
- Mancala Games: Topics in Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence. In: Retschitzki, J. & Haddad-Zubel, R. (Eds.). Step by Step. Proceedings of the Colloquium Board Games in Academia IV. Edition Universitaire, Fribourg (Switzerland) 2001: 133-146.
- Gobet, F., Retschitzki, J. & Voogt, A. J. de. (Ed.)
- Moves in Mind: The Psychology of Board Games. Psychology Press, Hove (UK) 2004.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Limits of the Mind: Towards a Characterisation of Bao Mastership. CNWS Publications, Leiden (Netherlands) 1995.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- New Approaches to Board Games Research: Asian Origins and Future Perpectives. IIAS Working Papers, series 3, Leiden (Netherlands) 1995
- Voogt, A. J. de
- Changing Objects: Aesthetic Qualities of Mancala Boards. In: Museum Anthropology 1996; 20 (3): 150-153.
- Voogt, A. J. de
- Indigenous Problem-solving and Western Methodology: The Case of Bao. In: IK Monitor 1996; 4 (3).
- Voogt, A. J. de
- Mancala Board Games. British Museum Press, London (UK) 1997.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Seeded Players: East African Game of Bao. In: Natural History (New York, USA) February 1998.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Going Full Circle. In: The Geographical (London). 1998 (12).
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Distribution of Mancala Board Games: A methodological Inquiry. In: Board Games Studies 1999; 2: 104-114.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Foreword. In: Russ, L. The Complete Mancala Games Book. Marlowe and Company, New York (USA) 1999, ix-xi.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Mancala Boards (Olinda Keliya) in the National Museums of Colombo. In: Board Game Studies 2000; 3: 90-99.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Strategy in Bao: An Introduction. In: Abstract Games Magazine 2000; Issue 4 (Winter): 21-22.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Strategy in Bao: Notation and the House. In: Abstract Games Magazine 2001; Issue 5 (Spring): 22-23.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Strategy in Bao: The Beauty is Complexity. In: Abstract Games Magazine 2001; Issue 7 (Autumn): 24-25.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Mancala: Games That Count. In: Expedition 2001; 43 (1): 38-46.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Reproducing Board Game Positions: Western Chess and African Bao. In: Swiss Journal of Psychology 2002; 61 (4): 221-233.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Mancala Exhibition in the Tropenmuseum (CD-ROM Publication). KIT Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2002.
- Voogt, A. J. de.
- Muyaka's Poetry in the History of Bao. In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 2003; 66: 61-65.
- Voogt, A. J. de
- Hawalis in Oman: A first Account of Expertise and Dispersal of four-row Mancala in the Middle East. In: Board Game Studies 2003; 6: 95-98.
- Voogt, A. J. de (Ed.)
- A Question of Excellence: A Century of African Masters. Africa World Press, Trenton NJ (USA) 2005.
External Links
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By: Ralf Gering
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