Games Played During The Revolution

Nine Man's Morris Versions of Nine Man's Morris have been found dating back to ancient Egypt. Also called Merels, the game was very popular in Scandinavia and the British Isles, and is still played today in many parts of the world. Each player alternates placing their nine pegs on the board. If a player places three pieces in a row (called 'forming a mill'), one of their opponant's pieces is removed. Once all the pieces have been placed, players take turns moving one of their pegs one space to a vacant adjacent hole via the lines.

Fox and Geese Fox and Geese seems to have originated in northern Europe some time during the Viking Age. It may be the game called Halatafl mentioned in Grettis Saga. The game is a contest between one Fox and 13 Geese. Play begins with the pieces in the positions shown. Players may move a piece to any vacant adjacent spot on the board, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally along the marked lines. Only the Fox may jump another piece. When a piece is jumped, it is removed from the board.

Mankala Play Mankala Now! Mankala has its roots deep in African history thought to be at least 7000 years old. Also known as Owari, Wari, or Awari, Mancala is played on a board with two rows of six shallow holes, and two larger holes on each side of the board.

The holes nearest to you are yours, while the holes on the opposite side belong to your opponent. The large hole on the right is your 'mancala' and the large hole on the left is your opponent's. The object of the game is to capture as many stones and place them in your mancala as you can. The player with the most stones at the end of the game wins. "Classic" Mancala is played starting out with four stones in each hole (except for the mancalas). To play, a player picks one of their holes with stones in it and distributes these stones counterclockwise. Distribution of stones wraps around the board, placing a stone in the player's mancala along the way, but not placing one in the opponent's mancala (if the stones get that far). If the last stone placed in a hole lands in your mancala, you get another turn. Otherwise it is your opponent's turn. Also, if the last stone placed lands in one of your holes that is empty, and the hole opposite contains stones, you steal your opponent's stones. Your last placed stone and your opponent's stones are placed in your mancala, and it is then your opponent's turn. The game is over when one player is out of stones on their side, or when a player has more than half the stones in the game. At the end of the game, any stones left on your side of the board are automatically placed in your mancala. The player with the most stones in their mancala is the winner.

There are many variations af this game and others that will be added to this website, and you can help! Send us an e-mail about what you think we should add or games you have heard of that you want us to find.

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For more games of this type see the medieval games
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