Eleven Men's Morris
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''Morabaraba'' is a traditional two-player
strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
played in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
with a slightly different variation played in
Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
. This game is known by many names in many languages, including ''mlabalaba'', ''mmela'' (in Setswana), ''muravava'', and ''umlabalaba''. The game is similar to twelve men's morris, a variation on the Roman board game
nine men's morris Nine men's morris is a strategy board game for two players, dating back to at least the Roman Empire. The game is also known as nine-man morris, mill, mills, the mill game, merels, merrills, merelles, marelles, morelles, and ninepenny marl in Eng ...
, which was based on the Egyptian game. The earliest known diagram of Marabaraba was found in an Egyptian temple in Kurna, Egypt, dating back to around 1440 BC. Other boards have been discovered in Ceylon / Sri Lanka (c. AD 10) and in the Gokstad Viking ship (c. AD 900). While some believed that ''morabaraba'' was introduced to Southern Africa by British settlers, morris variants exist in many parts of the world, e.g., India (''char bhar''), Ghana (''achi''), Kenya (''shisimia''), Somalia ('' shax''), Zimbabwe (''tsoro yemutwelve''), Iran(''dooz''), the Philippines (''tapatan'') and Mongolia (''gurgaldaj''). It is claimed that ''morabaraba'' boards carved in rock are dated to be at least 800 years old, which would exclude a European origin. As Nine Men’s Morris and later 12, uses the term Men for the game pieces and Marabaraba uses the term Cows for the stone pieces, both use the term a “Mill” for the line of three protected stones. It is reasonable that both games derived from the Egyptian game, one via the Roman and one directly. The ''
mancala Mancala ( ''manqalah'') is a family of two-player Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games, turn-based Strategy game, strategy board games played with small stones, beans, marbles or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board ...
''-type game of ''moruba'' (using of cupules) is yet another Egyptian game that is played historically throughout Africa, not merely in the South. ''Morabaraba'' is today most popular amongst rural African youth in Southern Africa, but can be seen daily at any non-city bus stop being played by adult passing time. In the traditional European games like nine men's morris, the counters are commonly referred to as "men", but in the South African game the counters are referred to as "cows", the game being particularly popular amongst youth who herd cattle. According to the '' OxfordDictionaries.com'', the term ''morabaraba'' is derived from the
Southern Sotho Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Bantu languages, Sesotho is ...
''moraba-raba'', meaning 'to
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...
' or 'to go round in a circle'.


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 it may be played on specially produced boards (or
simulated A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...
by computer software as a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
), 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. The description below is compatible with
Mind Sports South Africa Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is recognised by Act of Parliament as the national controlling body for mind sports in South Africa. Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is also an affiliate of the International eSports Federation, Fédération M ...
's "generally accepted rules". There are three main phases to the game: # Placing the cows # Moving the cows # Flying the cows


Placing the cows

* The board is empty when the game begins. Each player has 12 pieces, known as "cows"; one player has light cows and the other has dark cows * The player with the dark cows moves first * Each turn consists of placing a cow on an empty intersection on the board * The aim is to create a "mill": a row of 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


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 can not be formed again on the next move. * In some instances (in a competitive game) a chess rule "touch is a move" apply for time management. But this rule will be applied depending on the opinion of players.


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


Finishing the game

* A win occurs if one opponent has just two cows or if there are no moves. * If either player has only three cows and neither player shoots a cow within ten moves, the game is drawn * If one person cheats, then the other one wins by default * If one player picks up all cows while the play is still on, the player whose cows are on the board wins by default. * If a player plays twice before the other player, the player who did not play wins by default.


''Morabaraba'' as sport

Currently the
International Wargames Federation The International Wargames Federation (IWF) is the international body uniting national wargaming federations of South Africa and was founded in 1991. The IWF members are part of a greater movement toward integration of Mind Sports in the regular ...
is the international
governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
for the game as a competitive sport, and Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is the South African governing body. MSSA is recognised by both the South African Department of Sports and Recreation and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) . MSSA has developed amateur leagues, using different regional versions of the game, throughout the country, and has adopted a notation scoring system similar to that for nine men's morris.


World Championships

Since 1997, Morabaraba World Championships have been held, in three divisions: senior (i.e. adult males), women, and junior (boys and girls). Divisional winners are shown in the table below.


Variations


Sesotho board

This is the variation typically played by
Sesotho Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Ba ...
-speakers in South Africa and Lesotho. It differs from the standard form in that the board does not have diagonals between the center points of its sides and there is an additional intersection in the center of the board to prevent a draw. The online version of the Morabaraba Sesotho variation developed by
Botho University Botho University (formerly known as Botho College/NIIT) is Botswana's largest private tertiary educational provider, founded in 1997. The college offers certificates, diplomas and graduate degrees in accountancy and computer science. It is the f ...
Maseru Campus Student; Moeketsi Faso may be accessed on http://morabaraba.online


Eleven men's morris

This is a European variation that uses the same board as ''morabaraba'' but is played with eleven counters. This prevents a situation where the game can end in a draw in the placement phase.


Gonjilgonu (Chamgonu)

This is a Korean variation that uses the same board as ''morabaraba'' and is played with twelve counters. But when the counter is removed in the placement phase, that place is "marked" and both players cannot place their counter in that place (i.e., all 24 counters must be placed in a different place). This rule does not apply after the moving phase, and you can move pieces to places that are marked.


Standard notation

The standard Welt–Mühlespiel–Dachverband notation for nine men's morris works well for ''morabaraba'' . It is very similar to algebraic notation in chess. The board is laid out on a grid, with the columns in the grid being labelled a–g (from left to right), and rows in the grid being labelled from 1–7 (bottom to top). Each point is then referred to by its coordinate; for example, the top-left point in the middle (not inner) square is labelled b6. Moves are then formatted as in chess or draughts: placing a piece is denoted simply by the square where it is placed; moving a piece by the from and to squares (e.g. c5-d5); capturing by appending the captured piece to the move (e.g., c5-b6xe5 or c4xa1).


References

{{reflist *Davie, K.; ''The Little Golden Rhino''. Stellenbosch, South Africa: Peace Parks Foundation; 4 April 2004. *Dunton, C.; Ntaote, B; Bulane, N.; A Game for Two: Morabaraba"; ''Sethlala'', Lesotho; March/April 1990; pp. 30–31. *Futhwa, F.; ''Setho: Afrikan Thought and Belief System''; Alberton, South Africa: Nalane ka Fezekile Futhwa; 2011; p. 95 *Hamann, H.;
Herdboys' Game Moves into the Big Time
, ''The Sunday Times''; South Africa; 13 February 2000 *Hess, S.; "Playing the African Game", ''1999 Guide to South African Arts, Culture and Heritage''; 1999. *Lehihi, M.; "The African Game", ''The Sunday Times''; South Africa; 6 April 2003. *Mathys, C.; "Kids Learn to Be Game for Traditional Sports", ''Cape Argus Independent News and Media''; 26 April 2005. *Mosimege, M. D.; ''Exploration of the Games of Malepa and Morabaraba in South African Secondary School Mathematics Education''; Cape Town, South Africa: University of the Western Cape; 2000. *Nkopodi, N.; Mosimege M. S.; "Incorporating the Indigenous Game of Morabaraba in the Learning of Mathematics", ''South African Journal of Education'' 29(3); 2009; pp. 377–392. *Russouw, S.;
Getting Morabaraba back on Board
, ''Johannesburg News Agency''; 20 September 2002. *Thokozile Mkonto, K.; ''Indigenous Games Rule Book''. Sport Recreation South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa; 2006; pp. 22–23.


External links


Mindsports South Africa – the South African National controlling body for Morabaraba


* Printable Morabaraba or Twelve Men's Morris board https://sites.google.com/view/cavegames-morabaraba/home African games Morris games