Review

Mancala is a two-player strategy game dating back to the 7th century. It is commonly played throughout Africa and Asia with slight rule variants between different countries. This app provides a great way for users to learn to play, by using a simple tap control method in addition to clear graphics and animations providing feedback.

Users have the choice to either play against the iPad or use the ‘Pass & Play’ feature to play against another human player. The board is neatly displayed and the theme can be changed to enhance contrast between the stones and the background. Players can make use of hints (by tapping and holding the selected stones) that indicate areas where the stones can be moved to throughout the game. The game provides a blinking avatar as a prompt for user inactivity, however this blinking is subtle and can be easily missed. Although the app does not allow players to undo their moves if they have made a mistake, there is no time pressure to complete the game. Players are able to choose between three difficulty levels as well as a wide array of background and theme options to personalize gameplay.

Adverts are present when starting or exiting and resuming a game in the free version, and cannot be easily dismissed. For this reason, recommend purchasing the in-app upgrade to remove all adverts. A limitation of the app is the inability to change the speed of any computer animations. However, these were found to be of moderate speed and thus should not cause any problems. Unlike other app we reviewed, this app provides users with large and clear animations indicating an extra turn or a capturing event, which ensures engaging gameplay.

Due to the potentially complex nature of Mancala, we would recommend that users have some prior knowledge of the rules of the game. The free version does not contain any additional rules to the original game, but does allow users to adjust the number of starting stones.

Tip: In-App Purchases do require a password before completion, but they can be completely restricted on your device, if preferred. For information on how to do this for the Apple iPad, read our step-by-step guide. For information on how to do this for the Android tablet, click here.

Recommended Settings

Access the settings by tapping on the wheel icon on the upper right corner. These are our recommended settings (in bold):

• Music (ON/OFF; or user preference)

• SFX (ON/OFF; user preference)

• Board Theme (Modern, Wood, Gems, Fruit, Mosaic; user preference)

• Background Colour (user preference)

Select ‘New Game’ instead to access settings for new gameplay. We recommend:

• Players (user preference)

• Difficulty (easy, medium, hard)

• First Move (Player 1, Player 2, Random; user preference)

• Stones (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; for a traditional game we suggest 4 starting stones)

• Skip Opponent Goal (ON/OFF)

Then select Play to start the game.