Bao

I have got these rules when I bought a game on Zanzibar. They are just one version of playing bao. They are not the same as the rules de Voogt describes in his book "Limits of the mind, towards a characterisation of Bao mastership". De Voogt's version is described on www.gamecabinet.com. The computer-version of bao that I have programmed also uses de Voogt's version.

1. The game to be described here is that variation of Bao which is played on a board (Bao in Kiswahili) with four rows of eight "mashimo" (plural - holes, singular "shimo") in which 64 "kete (counters, singular kete) are distributed. The kete in the two rows of mashimo nearest to each player belong to him, each player in turn moves his kete in order to capture his opponent's kete and transferring them to his own mashimo.
2. Before desribing the initial layout of the game, it is necessary to demonstrate the basic moves. For the purpose the learner should distribute the kete indiscriminatly over the board.

verb: (to)takata

3. This move is made when a player is unable to capture any kete of his opponent. Selectany one of your mashimo and pick up all the kete from it; moving clockwise or anticlockwise around your two rows.
   Put one kete in the adjacent shimo and one in each of the following mashimo until none remain in the hand. If the last kete falls into an empty shimo, the turn is finished, if it falls into an occupied shimo, pick up all the kete tehrein (including the last one played), and - moving in the same direction as before - put one kete in the adjacent shimo and one in each of the following, Continue in this way until the last kete in hand falls into an empty shimo.
4. The following points should be noted:
   
   1. You may not start to takata with only one kete
   2. You may not start to takata with kete from a back row shimo if you can do so with kete from a fromt row shimo.
   3. Having started to takata you cannot capture any kete during that turn.
   4. Having started to takata in one direction, you may not change direction in that turn.
   5. You may not takata if you could capture any kete of your opponent.

5. We shall use the word "marker" to describe an occupied shime of the front row which is in line with an occupid shimo of the opponent's fornt row.
6. "Mtaji" (pl. "mitaji") is the term applied collectively to the kete (not less than two or more than fifteen) contained in one shimo, the last of which when when distributed one by one in either direction will fall into a marker.
7. To capture, you select an mtaji and commence your move as in kutakata. But instead of picking up your own kete from his marker, you pick up your opponent's kete from his marker. The captured kete are then distributed in the following manner.
8. If the opposing marker was in one of the four central lines and you were moving clockwise, put the first captured kete into your left-end front row shomi; the next kete into the adjacent shimo on the right and so on in the clockwise directiong around your two rows.
   If the opposing marker was in one of the central ines and you were moving anticlockwise, put the first captured kete into your right-end front row shimo, the next kete into the adjacent shimo on the left, and so on in an anticlockwise direction.
9. If the opposing marker was in either pair of the four outer lines put the first captured kete in your nearesst-end shimo to that marker, the next in the adjacent front row shimo and so on, clockwise or anticlockwise as the case may be.
10. If the last captured kete fall in an emtpy shimo the turn is finished; if it falls into a marker capture and proceed as in paragraph 8 and 9.
11. If the last catured kete falls into a shimo which is neither empty nor a marker, proceed as in paragraph 5. This must not, however, referred to as "kutakata", because you can again capture during the same turn if the last kete in hand falls into a marker.

12. Having learnt these moves the learner should now place two kete in each shimo and play a simplified form of bao with an opponent. The first player selects an mtaji and captures two kete; if he has selected badly his turn is now finished, but if he has selected well he will capture a further six kete and leave his opponent only mitaji to choose from.r Auswahl übrig.
13. The game continues until the losing player either has no kete in the front row or has no mtaji and nothing to takata with.
14. the skill consist in seeing a number of moves ahead, and in attacking the opponent's mitaji by capturing either the mtaji themselves or the kete of the appropriate markers. When forced to takata for lack of an mtaji it is usually the best to select the shimo with the largest number of kete.

15. In the East Africa game of bao only twenty kete are placed on to board at the start of the game, the remaining kete (the stock) is brought into play one at each of the first 44 turns. When all the kete are in play, the game continues and finishes as in "Bao la Kujifunza" above.
16. To set out the board ech player places six kete in his front-row shimo immediatly to the right of the centre of the board, and two kete in each of the next two mashimo to the right (leaving the end shimo empty.
    The six kete together with any further kete added to them during the play are collectively the "nyuma" of each player. In some board the mashimo which initially contain the nyumba are captured.
17. The first player takes a kete from the stock and adds it to one of the the two pairs of kete on the board; he may then takata with the three kete to the right or left or he may add these tree kete to the two kete on the right or left as the case may be, and takata in the same direction with all five kete. The first of the five is placed either in the nyumba or in the right-hand shimo.
18. If he has a marker, the second player must put a kete from the stock into his marker thereby capturing one of his opponent's kete which places in either of his end mashimo. If he has more than one marker, he chooses his nyumba for obvious reasons.
19. Each player in turn continues to add a kete from the stock to one of his occupied mashimo of the front row in accordance with the following rules, which apply to the first part of the game.
    1. If he has a marker, he must capture and proceed as in paragraph 8-11.
    2. If he cannot capture, he must takata.
    3. While any kete remain in the stock a player may not commence to takata with the kete of a back row shimo through he may continue to takata with them.
    4. He may neither commence nor continue to takata with his nyumba.
    5. If he has no marker cand cannont takata, he must put his kete from the stock into his nyumba, take two kete from the nyumba, place one in each of the next two mashimo to the right or the next two mashimo to the left.
    6. If having captured during that turn the last kete in hand falls into the nyumba, the player may at that point stop his turn or he may distribute his nyumba in accordance with paragraph 11.
20. The first part of the game proceeds until the stock has been brought into play or until the losing player has no marker, cannot takata and has no nyumba left. This will be either because he has distributed his nyumba or because it has disappeared by reason of paragraph 19a.
21. If the game has not been brought to an end during the first part, the rules applicable to the second half are those described in paragraph 3-14.