Morabaraba

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Morabaraba
The board used for Morabaraba. Pieces move from intersection to intersection along the lines on the board.
Players	2
Age range	Any
Setup time	< 1 minute
Playing time	< 1 hour
Random chance	None
Skills required	Strategy

Sesotho Morabaraba
The board used for Sesotho variation of Morabaraba.
Players	2
Age range	Any
Setup time	< 1 minute
Playing time	< 1 hour
Random chance	None
Skills required	Strategy

Morabaraba is a traditional African two-player abstract strategy board game. Morabaraba is similar to the European board game Nine Men's Morris, with the addition of diagonals and more pieces. Morabaraba is also know as Mlabalaba, Mefuvha, Tsoro, Mbau, Mhele and is played across Africa.

1 Gameplay
2 Morabaraba as sport
3 Notation
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Morabaraba is accessible and easy to learn, and games can be played quickly, but the strategic and tactical aspects of the game run deep. While Morabaraba may be played on specially-produced boards (or computer software), it is simple enough that a board can easily be scratched on a stone or into sand, with coins or pebbles (or whatever comes to hand) used as the pieces. It's easier to learn than chess or draughts (the rules can be picked up in a few minutes), but the game is not just a variation of noughts and crosses: it is subtle and thought-provoking.

There are three main phases to the game:

Placing the cows
Moving the cows
Flying the cows

[edit] Placing the cows

The board is empty when the game begins. Each player has 12 pieces, known as "cows"; one player has white cows and the other has black cows.
The player with the white cows moves first.
Each turn consist of placing a cow on an empty intersection on the board.
The aim is to create a "mill": a row three cows on any line drawn on the board.
If a player forms a mill, he or she may remove or "shoot" one of the opponent's cows. The shot cow is removed from the board and not placed again. A cow in a mill may not be shot unless all of the opponent's cows are in mills, in which case any cow may be shot.
Even if a move creates more than one mill, only one cow can be shot in a single move.

[edit] Moving the cows

After all the cows have been placed, each turn consists of moving a cow to an empty adjacent intersection.
As before, completing a mill allows a player to shoot one of the opponent's cows. Again, this must be a cow which is not in a mill, unless all of the opponent's cows are in mills.
Players are allowed to "break" their own mills.
A mill may be broken and remade repeatedly by shuffling cows back and forth. Each time the mill is remade, one of the opponent's cows is shot. Of course, by breaking the mill the player exposes the cows which were in a mill to the risk of being shot by the opponent on his or her next turn.
In the "Generally Accepted Rules" published by Mind Sports South Africa, a mill which is broken to form a new mill cannot be formed again on the next move.

[edit] Flying the cows

When a player has only three cows remaining, desperate measures are called for. This player's cows are allowed to "fly" to any empty intersection, not just adjacent ones.
If one player has three cows and the other player has more than three cows, only the player with three cows is allowed to fly.

[edit] Finishing the game

You win if your opponent cannot move.
You win if your opponent has just two cows.
If either player has only three cows and neither player shoots a cow within ten moves, the game is drawn.

[edit] Morabaraba as sport

Currently the International Wargames Federation is the international controlling body for the game (see past World Championship results at The International Wargames Federation Past Results page. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.), and Mind Sports South Africa is the South African controlling body for the game. Mind Sports South Africa is recognised by both the South African Department of Sports and Recreation and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) (see Register of SASCOC Members. SASCOC. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.).

Mind Sports South Africa has invested a great deal of time and effort into the different versions of Morabaraba which have borne fruit by having leagues played throughout the country as well as having adopted a notation system similar to Nine Men's Morris. It is hoped that the notation system will help develop the game further in that players will record their games and develop new and better tactics.

[edit] Notation

The notation devised by Mind Sports South Africa is simple to implement. The outer ring is the E-ring, the middle ring the A-ring, and the inner ring the R-ring. The top left is 1, and numbers continue clockwise to 8, so each point (on the standard board) is labelled between A1 and R8. Movement can then be of the form A7 (place a cow on A7), R2-R3 (move a cow from R2-R3), or A8-E8xE5 (move a cow from A8 to E8, shooting the cow on E5).