Behind the scenes: Bringing one of Africa’s oldest board games to life on mobile

• Carry1st described Mancala Adventure’s reception in the US as a “Cinderella story”
• The game has over 500,000 downloads on Android

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African publisher Carry1st has turned Mancala, one of the world’s oldest board games, into a mobile game. The game Mancala Adventures currently has over 500,000 downloads on Android.

Mancala, an ancient and popular board game loved throughout Africa, inspired the creation of Mancala Adventures. This reimagined version of the classic title was initially developed by the Ethiopian game studio Qene Games. Leading African publisher, Carry1st then went on to take the reins and publish the game people play today.

In a conversation with Carry1st, it described Mancala Adventures’ reception in the US as a “Cinderella story” due to the African game’s popularity there, with about 70% of players living in the US. 

In this interview, MENA games industry insider Stephen Sandmann shares his talk with Carry1st’s senior growth manager Nadia Przybylski [pictured left], game lead Roxana Muntean [pictured middle], and senior software developer Zlatko Radojcic [pictured right], who tell the story behind Mancala Adventures.

Stephen Sandmann: What are the key features of Mancala Adventures? 

Roxana Muntean: Mancala Adventures looks adorable and plays smoothly. You will meet opponents with different strategies and outsmart them by thinking ahead.

If that doesn’t scratch your strategic itch, you can take on other players in our PvP mode, where you will be matched with players from around the globe. Unlock fashionable customisations for your avatar and make yourself stand out with looks and smarts.

What indications have you seen regarding Mancala Adventures’ popularity in the US? Why do you think it’s proven popular there?

Roxana Muntean: Back in 2020, Carry1st ran exploratory user acquisition campaigns in the US, where we saw promising signs of marketability and amazing retention; these were great indicators of early success for a casual tabletop game. 

The core game loop is really satisfying, catchy, and fun, which makes this game popular and appealing to a wide variety of countries and cultures. 

Mancala Adventures also provides a mix of entertainment, social interaction, cognitive benefits, and inclusivity, providing players with a versatile and enduring form of recreation. 

What role does Carry1st play in the success of Mancala Adventures?

Roxana Muntean: Carry1st plays a crucial role in the success of Mancala Adventures by focusing on scaling the game across Africa and beyond.

Our mission has always been to scale awesome content across the continent by solving hard problems. Whilst Mancala Adventures shows amazing potential in the US, our ultimate goal is to scale the game across the continent, unlock its potential in Africa, and, why not, across the globe.

What future updates or features can players expect?

Roxana Muntean: One of the team’s most important priorities is to provide all our players with a seamless gameplay experience.

Over the next few months, players can expect exclusive content and new, time-limited events that will boost their competitiveness. 

In addition, we will polish the visuals and create personalised journeys within the game. In the long run, we hope that players will enjoy more social features and localised content.

What development challenges have you encountered along the way? 

Roxana Muntean: Succeeding on the continent means providing technical accessibility: the game must be playable across a range of devices, connectivity speeds have to be controlled, and data budgets must be managed. 

How big are the development and publishing teams for the game? 

Roxana Muntean: The Mancala team has over two dozen people who are strong and half working on development. 

We have dedicated resources for engineering, QA, game design, UI and art, product, and production.

What publishing challenges have you faced? 

Nadia Przybylski: It can be challenging to adapt mobile games to the MENA market’s unique local cultures and provide support in their desired languages. But Carry1st is familiar with successfully overcoming challenges for a variety of mobile games.

What MENA game trends should developers and publishers be mindful of in 2024?

Nadia Przybylski: There is continued healthy year-on-year growth across mobile games in the MENA region due to increased affordable internet access and affordable smartphones. These gamers are loyal to games and are happy to invest in their gaming experience. 

Also, gaming is becoming more mainstream, and so is esports, which promotes further adoption and growth. 

We are also seeing a rise in small indie gaming developers building games not just for the MENA region but which are seeing appeal in Western regions due to increased adoption in technical and development skills in the area.

Stephen Sandmann: How much growth has Mancala Adventures seen in the first half of 2024?

Roxana Muntean: The first six months of 2024 were an incredible journey for Mancala Adventures, and despite the challenges, we have made impressive improvements in the game. The two biggest wins were significantly boosting the average DAU (daily active users) and increasing the total net revenue by double- and triple-digit percentages. 

These achievements include great team collaboration, a compelling user acquisition strategy, and continuous product improvements.

                                                                             Edited by Paige Cook

This article is part of our Road to Jordan coverage. Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan returns on November 9th and 10th, 2024, offering you a chance to gain insights into the world’s fastest-growing games market, MENA.