Malays (ethnic group)
The Malays also have a variant of Mancala board game known as Congkak. The game is played by moving stones, marbles, beads or shells around a wooden board consisting of twelve or more holes. Mancala is acknowledged as the oldest game in the world and can be traced its origin since Ancient Egypt.
As the game dispersed around the globe, every culture has invented its own variation including the Malays.
Mancala
Some historians believe that Mancala is the oldest game in the world based on the archaeological evidence found in Jordan that dates around 6000 BCE. The game might have been played by ancient Nabataeans and could have been an ancient version of the modern Mancala game.
Although the games existed in pockets in Europe—it is recorded as being played as early as the 17th century by merchants in England—it has never gained much popularity in most regions, except in the Baltic area, where once it was a very popular game ("Bohnenspiel"), and Bosnia, where it is called Ban-Ban and still played today. Mancala has also been found in Serbia and in Greece ("Mandoli", Cyclades). Two Mancala tables from the early 18th century are to be found in Weikersheim Castle in southern Germany.