Oware

Boards may be elaborately carved or simple and functional; they may include a pedestal, or be hinged to fold lengthwise or crosswise and latch for portability and storage with the seeds inside.

The ground may also be used as a board; players simply scoop two rows of pits out of the earth.

In Oware Abapa, capturing occurs only when a player brings the count of an opponent's house to exactly two or three with the final seed he sowed in that turn.

If no such move is possible, the current player captures all seeds in their own territory, ending the game.

Variations allowing Grand slams to end the game are strongly solved by Henri Bal and John Romein at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in 2002; either side can force a draw.

Considered the national game of Bono State, Ashanti City-State, and Antigua & Barbuda, oware is said to derive its name — which literally means "he/she marries" — from a legend in the Akan language and Twi, the language of the Akan people, about a man and a woman who played the game endlessly and, so as to be able to stay together and continue playing, they married.

[8][9] Reflecting traditional African values, players of oware encourage participation by onlookers, making it perhaps the most social two-player abstract.

In recreational play, it is normal for spectators to discuss the game in progress and to advise the players.

The game, or variations of it, also had an important role in teaching arithmetic to African children.

[citation needed] As a strategy game, Oware requires keen strategic insights for human players.

However, computer analysis has shown that Oware (or Awari) is a solved game for which, with best play, either player is able to force a drawn result.