Wahree
ゲーム種別: 2人用2列マンカーラ（2つの貯蔵庫あり）; 2×6盤面; 1周限りの時計回り種蒔き; 自分の空いた穴に最後の石が落ちると向かい側の敵穴の石を獲得する（初期配置や追加ルールにバリエーションあり）。
概要
Wahree (also spelled Wari) is the traditional mancala of the United States Virgin Islands, preserved with special affection on the island of Saint Croix. Carried to the Danish West Indies over two centuries ago by enslaved West Africans, the game belongs to the historic Oware family. As modern pastimes spread through the mid-20th century, Wahree faced cultural erosion, receding into quiet memory alongside traditional Cariso ballads and Bamboula dances; Crucian writer James Weeks recalled that his generation grew up with only vague parental recollections of the pastime.
A dynamic renaissance emerged in the mid-1980s, when elementary school educators on Saint Croix championed Wahree as a hands-on tool for teaching mathematical reasoning, logical deduction, and African diasporic heritage. The inaugural inter-school tournament took place on November 30, 1984, at the Cooperative Extension Service in Kingshill, where young champions were awarded polished mahogany boards handcrafted by Raphael Perez Davis of the Golden Grove Correctional Facility. Annual competitions expanded to the Crucian Agriculture and Food Fair (Agrifest), where Ghanaian master Kofi Boateng claimed top honors. Today, Wahree is celebrated across Virgin Islands classrooms, particularly during Virgin Islands History Month each March.
盤面
- 段/列: 2
- 1列の穴の数: 6
- 貯蔵庫: Optional store at either end for captured counters
- 開始時の1穴あたりの石: 4 (48個 in total)
- Counters: Polished grey nickernuts (Caesalpinia bonduc), locally nicknamed "burning stones" because their hard shells generate friction heat when rubbed briskly together.
遊び方
- Play proceeds counter-clockwise around the twelve houses. Players alternate turns.
- On a turn, a player picks up all 石 from one of their own six houses and sows them one by one into subsequent houses counter-clockwise.
- Origin skipping: If a house holds 12 or more 石, a full lap is completed and the emptied starting hole is skipped during sowing.
- Feeding obligation: A player is required to feed an opponent whose row is completely empty, provided an available move can drop 石 across the board.
獲得
- When the final seed of a sowing lands in an opponent's house bringing its total to two or three 石, those 石 are captured into the player's store.
- Backward chain: Preceding opponent houses that also hold two or three 石 are captured in an unbroken reverse sequence.
- Wipe-out rule: Unlike classical Oware, Wahree explicitly permits a player to "wipe out" (or "plunder") the opponent by capturing every single counter remaining in their row.
終局と勝利
- If a player executes a wipe-out capture, the game terminates immediately; all remaining 石 on the board are swept up and awarded to the player who made the final wipe-out move.
- In games concluding through normal immobilization (where no wipe-out occurred), any 石 lingering on the board are claimed by the player on whose side they sit.
- The player with the highest total of captured 石 wins the game.
注記
- The game's historical rules were documented in 1995 by Crucian naturalist Olassee Davis, with vital tactical clarifications provided in 2010 by master player Kofi Boateng in an interview with games researcher Ralf Gering.
- The distinctive Crucian term "burning stones" reflects a popular schoolyard pastime of rubbing nickernuts against cloth until hot and gently pressing them against a friend's arm.
Source: Mancala World – Wahree