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If both players have captured the same number, the game continues until one player can't move. His adversary is then declared the winner of the game.
 
If both players have captured the same number, the game continues until one player can't move. His adversary is then declared the winner of the game.
   
So far this rule, which was implemented on igGameCenter, wasn't used even once in all the Kauri games played there (over a hundred). The tie-breaker is therefore considered to be superfluous and was removed from the official rules in May 2010.
+
This rule, which was implemented on igGameCenter, hasn't been used even once in all the Kauri games played there ((over a hundred)) up till now. The tie-breaker is therefore considered to be superfluous and was removed from the official rules in May 2010.
   
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==

Revision as of 16:23, 6 November 2010

Kauri → German, Portuguese.


Kauri
Inventor: Ralf Gering,
2006
Ranks: Two
Sowing: Single laps
Region: Germany

Kauri (German for: "cowrie"; pronounced like the English word), a mancala game, was invented on June 26, 2006, by Ralf Gering in the village of Hain (Brohl Valley), Germany. He got the idea to the game right after lunch while he was dozing, shortly before he fell asleep as the popular German saying goes:

"Den Seinen gibt's der Herr im Schlaf" (The Lord giveth (blessings) to His beloved in sleep. - Psalms 127:2 Lutheran Bible)

Several rule changes were made in December 2007.

Arty Sandler (Israel) added Kauri to the igGameCenter on April 17, 2008, a special online game gadget that allows playing abstract board games with other opponents in real-time directly from the site or from the Google Personalized Homepage.

Rules

The game is played on a standard mancala board of 2 x 6 holes. Each player owns one row.

Initially there are six counters in each hole: five "seeds" (Caesalpinia bonduc) and one "cowrie". Snakehead cowries or Lehokupa (Cypraea caputserpentis) are used by the author of the game.

Kalahini

Initial Position

At his turn a player distributes the contents of one of his holes according to the following rules:

  • The hole contains at least one cowrie.
  • The player takes the seeds in his right hand and the cowries in his left hand (if he is right-handed).
  • He distributes the seeds first, one by one, in the anti-clockwise direction into the succeeding holes.
  • Eventually he distributes the cowries, also one by one, continuing in the same direction.

The move ends after one lap.

The players capture counters according to the following rules:

(A) General Rules

  • Only seeds can be captured.
  • Cowries cannot be captured.
  • The capture takes place immediately when it is effected, even when the move hasn't yet ended.
  • Several captures, even of both types (see below), can happen in one move.
  • Captured seeds are removed from the board and collected until the game ends.

(B) Direct Capture

  • Seeds are captured from opponent's holes that have no cowries.
  • The capture is effected when a cowrie is dropped into such a hole.
  • The seeds are captured by the moving player.
  • The cowries effecting the capture remain on the board.

(C) Indirect Capture

  • Seeds are captured when they are dropped into opponent's holes that contain only cowries.
  • The seeds are captured by the opponent.
  • The cowries are not removed from the board.

A player must move, if he can. If a player still has seeds, but no cowries, he must pass until he can move again.

The game ends when no seeds are left on the board.

The player who captured most seeds wins the game. If the number of captured seeds is equal, the game is a draw.

Suggested Tie-Breaker

If both players have captured the same number, the game continues until one player can't move. His adversary is then declared the winner of the game.

This rule, which was implemented on igGameCenter, hasn't been used even once in all the Kauri games played there ((over a hundred)) up till now. The tie-breaker is therefore considered to be superfluous and was removed from the official rules in May 2010.

Strategy

Kauri-miceu1

Kauri played by students in Lisbon, Portugal

Although cowries are not counted in the end, they are important because on the one hand they can protect seeds against capture, while on the other hand they effect a capture. They serve for attack and defense.

Before a player captures, he may feed his opponent's holes that cannot be defended with seeds. The weakest holes are those which are most difficult to protect, usually the left-most ones in a row.

Zugzwang (German for "forced moves") is an important tool to control your opponent. Remember that only the contents of holes can be moved which contain cowries.

Kauri Proverbs

"An early lead - an early defeat."
An early lead is often bad because it could make the player vulnerable for a counter attack that would be even stronger.

"If in doubt, wait."
Don't capture too early.

"First sacrifice, then attack."
Sometimes it is even advantageous to force your opponent to capture your seeds.

"Feed yourself with cowries."
More cowries often mean more waiting moves and more choices for attack.

"The fattening period is followed by slaughter."
In German: "Nach dem Mästen folgt das Schlachten."

Statistics

Kauri-partie

Board position in the middle game (North to move)

A game takes on the average 40 plies (half-moves) until it is decided (range 13 - 99 plies). The average branching factor is 3.6, but a player can have more than 200 options to move, when the adversary is temporarily blocked. However, moves with three or four options are most common. Thus the game-tree complexity of Kauri is approximately 1.8 x 10^22, which is lower than that of Oware (4.4 x 10^32), but higher than that of Kalah(6, 4) (6.00 x 10^18).

Sample Games

(1) Arty Sandler (Israel) - Ralf Gering (Germany) - April 21, 2008

1. f D; 2. e F; 3. b (+1) D; 4. d E; 5. c C (+1); 6. a (+6) B (-1); 7. a B; 8. b D! (+25);
9. d F (+5) - Gering won by 31 : 8 points.

(2) Arty Sandler (Israel) - Ralf Gering (Germany) - April 29, 2008

1. d B; 2. e F; 3. f B; 4. b D; 5. a (-1) A; 6. c (-1) B; 7. d (-1) A; 8. c C (+1;-1); 9. d D (-1); 10. c E (+9); 11. c A?; 12. e D (+9); 13. f B (-1); 14. b (+17) E; 15. d (+9) E; 16. b D; 17. c (+4) - Sandler won by 33 : 22 points.

(3) Ralf Gering (Germany) - Gregory K. van Patten (USA) - November 5, 2008

1. e E; 2. e F; 3. b C (+2); 4. e D; 5. c A (+2); 6. e B; 7. d-a-f (+34) - Gering won by 34 : 4 points.

External Links

References

Gering, R.
Kauri - A New Mancala Game (e-mail to Yahoo's Mancala Games mailing list). June 27, 2006.

Copyright

© Wikimanqala.
By: Ralf Gering
Under the CC by-sa 2.5 license.