It’s Your Move: Optimal Playing Strategies for Mancala

Abstract

This thesis explores topics in game theory within the framework of the popular game Mancala. Game theory is a branch of mathematical analysis developed to study decision making in conflict situations such as games. Mancala is believed to be one of the oldest games in the world, and makes a great study because of its many levels of complexity. I explore several variations of the game and demonstrate the increasing level of difficulty in developing optimal playing strategies.