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Fun Math with Congkak game!

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Congkak is a great game!

When I was child I used to play Congkak with my friend after school, it was great. To play it, we need some tricks to loose our partner. Congkak (pronounced CHONG-kak) is a game played on a wooden boat-shaped block with two rows of seven circular holes and two large holes at both ends called "home". It is a game of two. The aim of the game is to gather as many shells into the storehouses on the player's side. Normally, either cowrie shells or tamarind seeds are used.

Congklak has different names in different country, in Malaysia this game is better known as congklek and the term is also known in some areas of Sumatra with Malay culture. In Java, this game is better known by the name congklak or dakon. In English, this game called Mancala. The origin of this traditional game you can find here.

So, what is the correlation between congkak and Math? Conkak is fun game, I am sure learning math with congkak case will be very interested by all students.
congkak

Each player controls the seven holes on his side of the board and owns the "home" to his left 

Here are the steps!

Does not involve much things and gameplay is simple

The congkak board consists of two rows of 7 holes called the 'houses' and two bigger holes in the right and left side called the 'storehouse'. Before the game starts the 'houses' are filled with seven congkak seeds or marbles each while the 'storehouses' are left empty. Choose whether you our your friend to starts in the first round.
  • 1First player begins simultaneously by scooping up all the shells in any house on their side.
    He or she drops a shell into the next 'house' and continues clockwise depositing one shell into every house thereafter. A player drops a shell into his 'storehouse' each time he passes it but does not deposit any into his opponent's 'storehouse'.
  • 2How the game continues, depends on where the last shell of each scoop is deposited.
    IF THE SHELL DROPS INTO THE PLAYER'S OWN 'STOREHOUSE': The player scoops up the shells from any of his 'houses' and distributes them as the first step.
    IF THE SHELL DROPS INTO A 'HOUSE' (on either side of the board) CONTAINING SHELLS: The player scoops up all the shells in that 'house' and continues distributing them as described above.
    IF THE SHELL DROPS INTO THE PLAYER'S 'HOUSE' WHICH IS WITHOUT SHELLS: The player is entitled to collect the shells in his opponent's 'house' directly opposite his own. These shells collected from his opponent's house together with his last shell are deposited in his own 'storehouse'. If the opponent's 'house' opposite his own is empty, he deposits only his last shell in his own 'storehouse'. He forfeits his turn and stops playing. It is the opponent's turn now to distribute the shells.
    IF THE SHELL DROPS INTO AN EMPTY 'HOUSE' BELONGING TO THE OPPONENT: The player forfeits his turn and stops playing. He also forfeits his shell and leaves it in the opponent's 'house'. It is the opponent's turn now to distribute the shells.
  • 3The first round ends when a player has no more shells on his side.
  • 4Play resumes in the second round with players redistributing shells from their own 'storehouse' to their own 'houses'. Beginning from left to right, seven shells are placed in each 'house'. If a player does not have sufficient shells to fill his own 'houses', the remaining cups are left empty and are considered 'burnt'. The leftover shells are deposited into his own 'storehouse.' The opponent deposits excess shells he has won into his own 'storehouse'.
  • 5The loser gets to start the second round. Play is continued as before but players will bypass 'burnt houses' for instance no shells are to be dropped into these houses. If a shell is accidentally dropped into a 'burnt house', it is confiscated and stored in the opponent's 'storehouse'.
  • 6Play continues until one player loses all his 'houses' or concedes defeat.

To make you easily understand the method...

Watch this movie!

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Here are some references about other traditional games for you children!

Michael G. Rayel, In his article Parenting 101: How Can Traditional Games Benefit Your Child?, said that traditional games allow families to have quality time together while improving relationships, creating laughter, keeping the brain healthy, and strengthening the bond that glue the family's fabric. Unlike traditional games, today's online games don't involve social interaction. If permitted, kids can stay with the computer all day long. Instead of spending time with their parents, siblings, or friends, they spend time with a cold, lifeless machine.
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Which traditional games did you ever play?

Share here...

  • lucky_izan Nov 9, 2011 @ 4:37 am | delete
    i used to play congklak on my old nokia phonecel, it called bantumi
    visit me: http://www.squidoo.com/3d-experience-with-lg-optimus-3d
  • daebak Nov 1, 2011 @ 9:42 pm | delete
    I really love playing congkak / mancala with my mom when I was young. Fun game...
  • hensba Nov 1, 2011 @ 9:53 pm | delete
    Yeah.... I used to do so :) thanks for dropping by!
  • wolfie10 Oct 29, 2011 @ 7:46 pm | delete
    i di like playing games, but there is never enough time in the day for that. have never heard of this one. thanks for sharing
  • healthandsick Oct 19, 2011 @ 2:23 am | delete
    fun game.. but this game is almost forgotten
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“If you ask mathematicians what they do,
you always get the same answer. They think.”

Math is fun...

Fatimah, Sarin and Hairu play congkak

Many students hate Math, because the feelings of inferiority and outright fear that many, probably most, students feel when they confront mathematics, severely inhibit students' natural intelligence and creativity. Many teachers in the conservative school never teach Math with fun, whereas when we are having fun, we are more open to learning. When we are having fun, we want to keep doing whatever we are doing.

Let's have fun with these Math questions!
  • 120% of the number of marbles Fatimah had is equal to the 35% of the number Hairu had. After Fatimah given away 30 marbles and Hairu collected 20 marbles, 30% of the number of marbles Fatimah had is equal to the 50% of the number Hairu had. What is the number of marbles each of them had at first? Click here for the answer!
  • 2Fatimah and Hairu invited Sarin to join them. As a new comer, Sarin has less marbles than them. He needs to win some games to catch up with them. Hairu and Fatimah have a total of 328 marbles. Sarin and Hairu have 176 marbles altogether. Fatimah has 5 times as many marbles as Sarin. How many marbles does each of them have? Click here for the answer!
  • 3After a round of Congkak game, 4/7 of the number of seeds that Fatimah has is equal to 3/5 of the number of seeds that Hairu has. What is the ratio of the number of seeds that Fatimah has to the ratio of the number of seeds that Hairu has? If the number of seeds that Hairu has is 40, how many seeds do Fathimah have? Click here for the answer!

I love math...

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Get useful books for your children

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Have some more information about learning Math with fun...

Many educational expert tried to research many methods to teach math with fun, here are some link may be useful for you...
Learn With Math Games
Math activities are for everyone. Whether a student does well or struggles with Math, Mathematical games teach new concepts and provide lots of opportunity to practice. A good game allows people with all levels of skill to participate together.
Fun Brain
This website provide many flash online games to attract children to learn Math as well as reading with fun.
The World of Math Online
Math.com is dedicated to providing revolutionary ways for students, parents, teachers, and everyone to learn math. Combining educationally sound principles with proprietary technology, Math.com offers a unique experience that quickly guides the user to the solutions they need and the products they want
Important!

The Most Important Thing

when we are having fun, we are more open to learning. When we are having fun, we want to keep doing whatever we are doing.

Have you any other methods to learn Math with fun?

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hensba

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