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Bao

 
 

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Bao

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Bao Bao Bao is a traditional mancala board game played in East Africa but particularly popular with the Swahili people of Kenya © Vivianne Riviere

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  • Bao
  • Bao: the aim of the game

Bao is a very popular game played in Kenya and neighbouring East African countries. There are several versions of Bao, the most complex one being 'Bao la Kiswahili' ("Bao of the Swahili People"). The word "bao" means "board" in Swahili, and appropriately, is played on a board with four rows and eight squares and 32 pits known as "mashimo" or "holes" and 64 seeds divided between two players. The two rows in front of you are yours and the others are your opponent's. As the board rotates clockwise, the aim of the game is to deprive them of any legal moves, therefore emptying your opponent's front row and collect all of their seeds (while simultaneously protecting your own row of seeds).

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