THE RULES OF BAO

1. The game to be described here is that variation of "Bao" which is played on the coast of East Africa. It is played on a board ("bao" in Kiswahili) with four rows of eight "mashimo" (holes - singular, "shimo") in which are distributed sixty-four "kete" (counters - singular, "kete"). The kete in the two rows of mashimo nearest to each player belong to him; each player in turn moves his kete with a view to capturing his opponent's kete and transfering thme to his own mashimo.
2. Before describing the inital lay-out for the game, it is necessary to demonstrain the basic moves. For this purpose the learner should distribute kete indisciminately over the board.

   "KUTAKATA"

3. This move is made when a player is unable to capture any kete of his opponent. Select any one of your mashimo and pick up all the kete from it: moving clockwise or anti-clockwise 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 therein (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:
   (a) You may not start to takata with only one kete.
   (b) You may not start to takata with kete from a back-row shimo if you can do so with kete from a front-row shimo.
   (c) Having started to takata in one direction you may not change direction that turn.
   (d) Having started to takata you cannot capture any kete during that turn.
   (e) You may not takata if you could capture any kete of your opponent.

   CAPTURING

5. We shall use the word "marker" to describe an occupied shimo of the front-row which is in line with an occupied shimo of the opponent's front-row.
6. "Mtaji" (plural "mitaji") is the term applied collectively to the kete (not less than two nor more than fifteen) contained in one shimo, the last of which when distributed one bye one in either direcction will fall into a marker.
7. To capture, you select a mtaji and commence your move as in kutakata. But instead of picking up your own kete from your 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 shimo, the next kete into the adjacent shimo on the right, and so on in a clockwise direction around your two rows. If the opposing marker was in one of the four central lines and you were moving anti-clockwise, put the fist captures kete into your right-end front-row shimo, the nest 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 nearest end-shimo to that marker, the nest in the adjacent front-row shimo and so on, clockwise or anti-clockwise as the case may be.
10. If the last captured kete falls in an empty shimo the turn is finished; if it falls into a marker, capture and proceed as in paragraphs 8 or 9.
11. If the last captured kete falls into a shimo which is neither empty nor a marker, proceed as in paragraph 3. This must not, however, be referred to as "kutakata" because you can again capture during the same turn whenever the last kete in hand falls into a marker.

    "BAO LA KUJIFUNZA"

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 a 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 five mitaji to choose from.
13. The game continues until the losing player either has no kete in his front-row, or has no mtaji and nothing to takata with.
14. The skill consists in seeing a number of moves ahead, and in attacking the opponent's mitaji bye capturing either the mitaji themselves or the kete of the appropriate markers. When forced to takata for lack of an mtaji it is usually best to select the shimo with the largest number of kete.

    "BAO LA KISWAHILI"

15. In the East African Coast fame of bao only twenty kete are placed on the board at the start of the game, the remaining kete (the stock) being brought into play one at each of the fist forty-four 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 each player places six kete in his front-row shimo immediately 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 called collectively the "nyumba" of each player. In some boards the mashimo which initially contain the nyumba are enlarged.
17. The first player takes a kete from the stock and adds it to one of his two pairs of kete on the board; he may add these three 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 being placed either in the nyumba or in the right-end 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 he places in either of his end-mashimo. If he has more tan one marker he chooses his nyumba for obvious reasons. If he has no marker he plays as in paragraph 17.
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
    (a) If he has a marker he must capture and proceed as in paragraphs 8-11.
    (b) If he cannot capture he must takata.
    (c) While any kete remain in the stock, a player may not commerce to takata with the kete of a back-row shimo, though he may continue tot takata with them.
    (d) He may neither commence nor continue nor continue to takata with his nyumba.
    (e) if he has no marker and cannot 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.
    (f) 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.
    (g) The first part of the game proceeds until all 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 bye reason of paragraph 19 (c).
20. If the game has not been brought to a close during the fist part, the rules applicable to the second half are those described in paragraphs 3-14.