About the Glass Bead Game

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About the Glass Bead Game

Mancala's are among the oldest boardgames known to man. They can be found in a huge variety of variants and under many different names from South Africa to the Phillipines. In his "New Rules for Classic Games" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York; ISBN 0-471-53621-0), Wayne Schmittberger remarks of the Glass Bead Game:

"Christian Freeling has created a mancala-type game that may make you want to forget all the previous ones you've seen".

The reason for his enthusiasm lies in a number new concepts I brought to the general principle and the way they interact.

In traditional mancalas all beads are equal. Here they come as Gems & Stones.

Gems range in point value. They can be captured, but cannot capture.

Stones have no point value. They can capture, but cannot be captured.

There are two mutually exclusive ways to make a capture, direct & indirect.
Both allow for single as well as multiple captures.

These concepts, among other things, make the order in which the beads of a particlar pit are distributed - totally irrelevant in usual mancalas - an important issue. The strategical and tactical implications allow for a drastic reduction in the material needed. The Glass Bead Game is not only deeper and wider and more strategically and tactically rewarding than any other mancala, but also considerably smaller.

Playing the Glass Bead Game is like riding a bike: it comes naturally once basics are mastered, but before that it's a matter of keeping balance rather than knowing where you're going.