Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) recently released their official national ranking for the game of Marabaraba – one of the most popular recreational games in South Africa. The NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark dominates the rankings with Siyabonga Mogale, Sebolelo Motlhabi and Joseph Matlhong capturing the top three positions. Siyabonga leads the charge with a massive 430,6 points to her name.
Morabaraba – a game of skill and strategy
According to Joseph, who is also the coordinator of the campus’ mind sports club, it is very encouraging to see students signing up for mind sports. The club’s good run also serves as motivation for students to join in this fast growing sporting discipline.
“At its most basic the game teaches players (also called ‘warriors’) how to do plan and execute cattle raids,” explains Joseph. According to the rules of the game, two players have 12 cows (tokens) each and play on a wooden board ringed with 24 circles. The aim is to take as many of your opponent’s cows as possible while moving your cows forward and towards your opponent’s back row.
Asked whether the outcome of the game is based on luck, Joseph quickly answers that practice makes perfect and that a lot of time goes into perfecting ones strategy. A game can be won in a matter of hours or minutes, depending on the skills of the players. The quickest game Joseph ever played and won, was one minute long.
“The game teaches you to think and consider your options before you make a move, it keeps you focused,” explains Joseph. He furthermore adds that because it’s not a physical game, men and women can sit down together and play it on an equal footing.
Mind sports as a competitive sporting code
The campus in Vanderbijlpark joined MSSA in 2017 and since then the sport has grown in leaps and bounds. In fact, it took the campus less than 24 months to enjoy national acclaim. At present the club boasts more than 100 members who take part in two main disciplines, namely: board games (such as Marabaraba, card games and war games.) and eSports. The latter refers to all computer or digital based games, such as FIFA 18, Tekken 7, League of Legends, Counter Strike and robotics.
Since the inception of mind games on the campus the popularity of the sport has increased “beyond expectation” and according to Joseph, who is the campus’s mind sport coordinator, more than 70 members compete in board games while 35 members focus on eSports. The club’s members are made up of staff and students.
