Mandoli

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Mandoli

First Description: Jean-Etienne Liotard, c. 1740

Cycles: One

Ranks: Two

Sowing: Single laps

Region: Greece (Cyclades)

Mandoli ("almonds") was played in the Cyclades, Greece, in the second half of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century.

A mancala game played in the Levantine was shown by the Swiss miniaturist Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789) in his painting "Deux dames grecques ou franques assises sur un divan et jouant au mankala'h" (Sanguine et pierre noire (14,8 cm x 21,7 cm)), c. 1740. Later the Scottish traveller John Galt observed Mandoli on the Greek island of Hydra in 1810.

The game appears to be influenced by other mancala games played in the Osman Empire, such as Halusa and Mangala.

Quote

"There is, however, a tolerably decent coffee-house; and in winter, even at present, card and chess players may be always found in it. I saw there to-day a game, which, not having seen elsewhere, I give you a description of. The Idriots call it Mandoli, or the almonds, and it is played at a board by two persons. Twelve hollows are scooped in the board, in two rows of six each: in each hollow six balls are placed, and the opponents take each a row. The game is commenced by the first player taking out the balls from any one of the hollows, and distributing them, one by one, successively, round the board. In the first round no balls can be captured, but in the second the contest becomes serious. The skill of the player consists in so managing his distribution, that his last all shall either fall in a hollow where there is only one, or three, or seven, or nine &c. which, by the addition of his ball, are made even numbers, and in consequence become prizes. If in the distribution he makes even numbers in the two last hollows, he takes the contents of both. This is considered a great stroke. The victor is, of course, he who reckons the greatest number of prisoners."

John Galt (1810)

Rules

The board consists of two rows of six holes. Each player controls one row. Initially there can be four, five or six almonds in each hole as agreed before the game.

Possible Initial Position

At his turn, a player distributes the contents of a hole, one by one, in a counter-clockwise direction into the succeeding holes.

If the last seed is sown into a hole of either side, making it even, its contents are taken.

If this hole is preceded by an unbroken sequence of even holes, their contents are also captured.

When a player has no almonds left on his side, his opponent must make a move, if possible, which would leave him something to play with. A similar rule exists in Oware.

A player must move when he can.

The game ends when a player is unable to move. The almonds still left on the board are then captured by his opponent.

The player with the larger number of captured almonds wins the game.

References

Galt, J. 

Letters from the Levant. London (UK) 1813, 241-242.

Munro, K. 

Greek Mandoli. House White Ash, Seattle WA (USA), March 28, 2003.

Santos Silva, E. 

O Ouri: Um Jogo Caboverdiano e a sua prática em Portugal. Associação de Professores de Matématica, Lisboa (Portugal) 1994.

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By: Ralf Gering.
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