Bantumi brought a digital version of the ancient African game mancala to Nokia phones, in which players move stones between pits on the board and try to collect as many as possible into their own store. Moves are simple, the player picks one of their pits and distributes the stones from it clockwise into the following ones, but the goal lies in thinking several moves ahead, so that the opponent is not left with favorable positions, and conversely so the player doesn't end up in a situation where the opponent can easily sweep up their last stones.
Unlike reflex-based arcade games such as Snake or Space Impact, this was a purely turn-based strategy, which set it up for a different kind of play, short but thoughtful rounds, ideal for waiting in line or riding the bus, when the player doesn't need quick reflexes but a moment of calm to think things over. Even the most basic keypad of phones back then handled the controls fine, all you had to do was pick pits and confirm moves, so the barrier to entry was minimal. Like other titles of this generation, the game came preinstalled for free right in the phone's package, so practically everyone who browsed the menu of preinstalled games discovered it.
Bantumi showed that a mobile phone could also host calmer, more contemplative genres, not just fast arcade games, and thus expanded the genre palette of Nokia's preinstalled games with a strategic component. Today it's only available on period phones or through emulation of old devices.
Why play it: it will appeal to players who enjoy calm turn-based strategy games and want to see how an old mancala game found its way into a pocket via an ordinary mobile phone.
Game 6 of 69 for Java a Symbian (telefony před smartphony)
