Ayo Across The World: Rio Kadalis & Layli Goobalay (Somalia)

Jul 1

How To Play: Rio Kadalis

Sowing Seeds:

The first player selects a cup from their own territory and scoops all of its seeds. The player will then “sow” or distribute one seed into each cup, moving in a counter clock direction. Do not place seeds in the end pockets. If the last seed is sown into a cup filled with seeds, the player must scoop up all the contents of that cup and continue to sow each seed until the last seed is sown into an empty cup OR if the last seed is dropped in a cup of 3 seeds, making a total of 4 seeds. After this, it will be the opposing player’s turn.

Capturing Seeds:

A player can capture seeds at any point of the game when any cup from any territory has 4 seeds in it. This goes quickly because as one player is sowing seeds, the opposing player can simultaneously capture 4-seed cups from their own territory, even if there are more than one cup containing 4 seeds in their own territory. The player sowing seeds can only capture seeds from their opponent’s territory if their last seed sown creates a cup with 4 seeds. The player can capture those seeds regardless of whose territory it’s in.

End of Game:

The game ends when a player is no longer able to make a move. At which point, the remaining seeds in each territory are captured by the respective players. The player with the most seeds wins.

More Ways to Play:

Play in Rounds! Using the seeds captured from the previous round, Players will reset the board, adding 4 seeds to each of the six cups in their territory. The player with more seeds will place the extra seeds in the capture pocket to their right. The player with the least amount of seeds will “close off” the empty cups in their territory, which will not be used during the round.

If the player with “closed off” cups captures enough seeds for the round, those cups can be reopened for the following round. The player who wins 4 rounds, wins!

How To Play: Layli Goobalay

Sowing Seeds:

“Pregnant” Cups:

If a player sows a seed in an empty cup in their territory, facing an opposite cup with three seeds, the player will take one of those three seeds and place it into the last cup they sowed. The two opposing cups will now have 2 seeds each and therefore be considered “Pregnant” or “Urr.” The player now owns those cups - all seeds dropped into these cups now belong to them. Any turn may not start by using the seeds from those cups.

Capturing Seeds:

A player can capture seeds when the last seed is dropped into an empty cup on their side of the board. If the facing cup on the opponent's side contains 1,2, or 4 seeds, those seeds are captured as well. If the facing cup on the opponent’s side contains 3 seeds, follow the “Pregnant” cup play, above. If the facing cup in the opponent’s territory is empty, no seeds are captured. If the last seed is sown in the opponent’s territory, and the facing cup in the player’s own territory is empty, no seeds are captured.

End of Game:

The game ends when a player is no longer able to make a move because there are no seeds left in their territories, not including the pregnant cups. At which point, players will capture the remaining seeds in their territories, including the pregnant cups. The player with the most seeds wins the round.

More Ways to Play:

Play in Rounds! This is the first round. In the second round, the player with the least amount of seeds will sow their seeds, one at a time, into the cups in their territory. The opposing player will place the same amount of seeds in their territory, keeping the extra seed in the capture pocket. The players will continue to play extra rounds until one player captures 43 or more seeds.