5 Board Games you Probably never Heard of...

Gulugufe is Chitonga for "butterfly", which helps explain the design of this unusual and rare board game.

The Play of the Butterfly Game

The goal is to capture all of the opponent's pieces, or be the one with more pieces when no more pieces can be taken by either player, or stalemate the other opponent's pieces such that they are immobilised.

There are a total of 19 intersection points for the pieces to be played upon.

Each player has nine pieces. One player plays Dark, and the other player plays Light, however, any two colours will suffice.

Multiple captures are allowed in Gulugufe as long as there is one vacant point in between the enemy pieces, and a vacant point beyond the last enemy piece.
Captures are compulsory. If there are several options to capture in one turn, the player may choose any one of them.

If a player cannot perform a move or a capture because its pieces have been blocked or immobilised by the other player's pieces, this is known as a stalemate, and the player loses; the other player wins.

If neither player can capture any more pieces, the player with more pieces wins. If both players have the same amount of pieces, then the game is a draw.

Dakon is a board game of the Mancala range of count and capture board games played all over the world. Dakon is especially popular in Japara and Jakarta, Indonesia among women and among children.

Among Children it is typically used as a maths learning learn. Among the women it is usually part of a social gathering.

Dakon is played on a board ("papan dakon") with two rows, each one with five to nine holes. Seven is considered standard. At either end there is also a large store ("rumah").

* Each hole ("sawo") contains seven counters, if a standard board is used. The counters ("biji sawo") are sapodilla fruits or cowrie shells.

* The opening is played in turns. There are no simultaneous opening moves.

In Dakon there are two ways of capturing:

* If the last seed falls in an empty hole of the own side, the seeds in the opposite hole are captured. This is called "nembak" or "tembak" ("shoot").

* If the last seed is dropped into an opponent's hole, which is empty, the opponent's seeds on the right and left sides are taken. This is known as "mikul" or "pikul" ("carry on shoulder").

Moraboraba is a Board Game of the Alquerque or Nine Men's Morris Class. This one from Malawi is better known as Twelve Men's Morris.

Though it is only a two player board game is it a very typical board game of Malawi social life and gmaes of Morabaraba found on the street often draw a nice crowd.

Morabaraba (also known as Umlabalaba, and by many other names!) is an ancient and traditional African board game, which has been played for at least thousands of years.

Traditionally taught to young herdboys, the game is played by millions in Malawi. Its educational, fun and highly strategic.

While it is very easy to learn to play, the game is rich in depth and sophistication, and is definitely not simplistic or trivial. As part of Africa's cultural heritage, Morabaraba is a profound game which has much to offer the world of strategy board games.

Morabaraba is a simple, yet addictive traditional African board game somewhat similar to Nine Men's Morris. It is played on a board with 24 nodes joined by lines; each player has twelve pieces (called cows). The game proceeds in three phases:

1. Players alternately place one piece on a node in each move. If a player makes three in a row, he or she can "eat" one of the opponent's cows.

2. Once all the cows are placed, players take turns moving the cows to adjacent nodes. Again, whenever a player forms three in a row, one of the opponent's cows may be eaten.

3. When one player is down to just three cows, the remaining cows may "fly" to anywhere on the board (not just adjacent nodes).

You win when you reduce your opponent to two cows, or when he or she can't move.

Senet is probably the oldest board game discovered so far, dating to around 4,000 B.C. Like many of the other board games in this list it is a two player strategy Game. It was made particularly famous by Queen Nefatari and appeared in the Movie, Cleopatra.

More than likely it was from Senet that games like Backgammon originated. The board pictured is a faithful reproduction of those found in early Egyptian tombs.

There are a set of rules that make the game clear and enjoyable to play. However, most would have to concede that the original rules are a bit sketchy since no one bothered to write them down 4,000 years ago!

Cachito is the National Game of Peru and can be considered the original Perudo. The rules are basically the same, but was is different here is that rather than have the game made en masse in China, the one pictured here actually comes from Peru.

Cachito is a lively dice game that involves a little luck and a lot of bluff. It is a brilliantly social dice game that has re emerged in popularity in recent years due to its appearance in the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean."

yes, its a Pirate Dice Game, and an excellent one!

Perudo Rules