Amboseli Game

Amboseli Game

Inventor: Ringo Skibbe, 1995

Ranks: Four

Sowing: Multiple laps

Region: Germany

The Amboseli Game was invented in 1995 by Ringo Skibbe who lives in Halle, Germany. Skibbe is a member of the managing board of the Deutsche Gumtec AG and a well-known marketing expert in Germany.

The Amboseli Game was inspired by mancala games played by the Maasai in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. It was patented in Germany in 1996 (utility patent). There are three variants.

Rules

General Rules

The board consists of four rows, each one counting eight holes.

Every player owns 32 stones.

At his turn a player moves only on his side of the board.

If the last stone is dropped into a non-empty hole, its contents are distributed in another lap. This continues until the last stone falls into an empty hole.

When the last stone is dropped into an empty hole, the player captures the contents of both enemy holes that are opposite.

The player who captures all stones of his opponent wins the game.

Variant A

At the start of the game there are two stones in each hole.

Initial Position

The stones are distributed in a clockwise manner.

Variant B

Starting position as in variant A.

Stones may be distributed either clockwise or counterclockwise. However, after the decision was made, the direction cannot be changed during a move.

Variant C

Initially the board is empty.

Initial Position

On his turn a player places one stone in any of his holes.

If he gets a valid pair of stones, he captures the contents from any hole of his opponent. Each stone of such a pair must be in another row of his own, but in the same file.

Example: A Valid Pair

When all stones are on the board, the game continues like variant A.

References

Skibbe, R.: Strategiespiel Amboseli Game. (Gebrauchsmuster DE 295 06 020 U1). Deutsches Patentamt, München (Germany) January 25, 1996.

External Links

Deutsche Gumtec AG