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A Tegre (mancala-type) game board we bought near Dorze, Ethiopia
When I was a teenager, my parents bought my little brother and sister a game called Mancala: “one of the oldest board games from Africa,” claimed the box. Mancala is the name that anthropologists have given to a type of board game that is played throughout Africa, and some places in Asia (from The Complete Mancala Games Book: How To Play the World’s Oldest Board Games
The boys in Dorze who taught us to play Tegre
Fast-forward to 2008, and my husband and I were traveling in southern Ethiopia. In a small village called Dorze we became friends with a group of boys who were interested in showing us their ping-pong table, their instruments, and their “Tegre” game. This was like mancala game
The game the boys showed us has 2 rows of 6 holes each. Start with 4 seeds in each hole. Sit facing your partner with the board between you. You each have 6 pits that are “yours” and the hole to your right is where you’ll put captured seeds (the hole to your partner’s right is theirs). The goal is to get as many seeds in your pit as possible!
Each player starts by choosing a hole on his side, and picking up all of the seeds in that hole. Then, moving in a counterclockwise direction, he/she should deposit them one by one in the following holes (as if taking a lap around the holes). This player continues to pick up seeds and place them in holes until the last seed goes into an empty hole.
When the last seed of the turn is placed into an empty hole, there are 3 possibilities. 1) If the hole is on your opponent’s side, the turn is over. 2) If the empty hole is on your side, and the opposite hole is empty, the turn is over. 3) If the empty hole is on your side, but the opposite cup has some seeds in it- you get to capture the seeds and place them in your pit to the right.
The whole game ends when one row is empty!
Now that you know how to play, let’s make a tegre/mancala game! Use a cardboard egg carton, which already has the 2 rows of 6 holes built-in. Paint it however you’d like- we used the colors of the Ethiopian flag. Once the paint has dried, cut off the top of the carton, and then cut it in half. Fasten it with glue or tape to the bottom of the egg carton (as seen in the bottom, right picture) so you have a section on either side of the game board, in order to collect the seeds from your opponent.
You can use seeds, little pebbles, or dried beans with your new game.
If you want to practice against a computer, try this on-line Mancala game– it is fun and builds strategic skills with 3 difficulty levels.
I’ve seen this played all throughout SEAsia but never quite figured it out. Some local boys showed my kids once but we only had enough time for one game before we had to leave, so the next time we saw it we’d forgotten. We’re going to have to make our own and learn the rules! Love the idea of painting the egg carton, although the problem is here in Asia eggs come in packets of 10. Still I’m sure I can improvise something!
you know that is anew information for me but tegre and bega in East Sudan and erteria it is nation and some tribes called tegre
Thank you so much Salih! Please tell me more- the history of it is so interesting to me:).
its Ethiopian traditional game and its called GEBETTA. Tigre is a tribe in ethiopia and tigray is a region in Ethiopia. The game is not native to Tigray. its played all over Ethiopia especially in Amhara region.
So interesting! I haven’t quite got a full grasp of the game but I am love how you crafted your own!
I still forget how to play everytime- though it isn’t that hard haha:). The interesting thing about this game is that it is widespread- throughout Africa and parts of Asia! I even have friends in the Philippines who play a similar game!
We have not heard of TEGRE before but this was an interesting article. The family of Mancala Games is quite large and it’s amazing how far it has traveled.