Zig Zag ------- Clark D. Rodeffer & Amanda J. L. Rodeffer Overview -------- Zig Zag is a semi-multi-lap mancala game for 2 players. Equipment --------- * A mancala board having 2 by 6 pits with storehouses at each end, and * 60 seeds. Method of Play -------------- The game begins with empty storehouses and 5 seeds in each of the 12 pits. Situate the board horizontally between the two players. Each player uses the storehouse on her right to store captured seeds, and always begins sowing from one of the six pits on her own side of the board. For easy notation in the diagrams, the capital letters A through F will refer to pits on the top side of the board, controlled by player P, and the diminutive letters a through f will refer to the pits on the bottom side of the board, controlled by player p. In a game between players P and p, the opening setup would look like this: P 5 5 5 5 5 5 A B C D E F 0 ---------------- 0 a b c d e f 5 5 5 5 5 5 p Each player, on her turn, lifts all of the seeds from one of the non-empty pits on her own side of the board, and sows them, one at a time, in a zig zag fashion, with the start of the first lift (called a "lap") sowing toward the center line of the board. When the end of the board is reached, continue sowing straight across, then zig zag back in the other direction. For example, if p wants to sow the 5 seeds in a, she would sow (zig zag, beginning toward the center line) into the holes B-c-D-e-F, and the board would then look like this: P 5 6 5 6 5 6 A B C D E F 0 ---------------- 0 a b c d e f 0 5 6 5 6 5 p What happens next depends upon where the last seed lands. 1) If the last seed of the current lap falls into a non-empty pit on the opponent's side of the board (as in the example above), or into an empty pit on her own side of the board, that player's turn is over, and her opponent's turn begins. 2) If the last seed of the current lap falls into a non-empty pit on the player's own side of the board, she lifts all of the seeds from that pit, including the last one sown, and sows them, one at a time, in a zig zag fashion, continuing in the same direction the last lap was going when it ended. Unlike the first lap, this may not necessarily be toward the center line of the board. For example, in the above diagram, if P lifts the 6 seeds from pit D, she would sow (zig zag, beginning toward the center line) into c-B-a-A-b-C. Then since the last seed fell into a non-empty pit on her own side of the board, she would lift the 6 seeds from pit C and continue sowing d-E-f-F-e-D. The board would then look like this: P 6 7 0 1 6 7 A B C D E F 0 ---------------- 0 a b c d e f 1 6 7 6 7 6 p 3) If the last seed of the current lap falls into an empty pit on the opponent's side of the board, she captures all of the seeds (if any) from the pit on her own side of the board directly across from the pit into which the last seed was sown, and places them into her storehouse. Her turn is then over, and her opponent's turn begins. For example, in the above diagram, if p lifts the 7 seeds from pit e, she would sow (zig zag, beginning toward the center line) into pits D-c-B-a-A-b-C. Since the final seed fell into an empty pit on her opponent's side of the board, she gets to capture the eight seeds from pit c and place them into her storehouse. The board would then look like this: P 7 8 1 2 6 7 A B C D E F 0 ---------------- 8 a b c d e f 2 7 0 6 0 6 p RESTRICTION: If your opponent sowed a non-capturing single seed into an empty hole on your own side of the board across the center line, you are not allowed to sow the same seed back where it came from unless it will capture seeds. This is to prevent endless cycles before the end of play, but (to mix metaphors) such a maneuver might be used tactically as a ko threat to force an opponent into zugzwang. The game ends when no more seeds can be captured. Due to the forced first lap sowing toward the center line, this usually happens when there are 2 or fewer seeds remaining on the board. The player who last made a capturing move is awarded these remaining seeds. The player who captured the most seeds wins. This is Zig Zag version 1.0.0 by Clark D. Rodeffer & Amanda J. L. Rodeffer, January 31, 2007.