“Mangala / Göçürme”, which is one of the means of socialization and cultural sharing in the ancient Turkish civilization and culture, including the Ottoman period is a traditional Turkish intelligence and strategy game.

Mangala/Göçürme game is known with different names in many regions of Turkey. It can be given these names as examples: Köçürme (Divan-ü Lügati’t Türk), “Mankala”, “Kümelek”, “Dokuz Kuyu”, “Kuyulama”, “Yalak”,“Dokuz Taş”, “Emme”, “Kale”, “Kortik”, “Çakıldak”, “Çukur”, “Göcek”, “Emen”,“Mele”, “Hane”, “Kuyucuk Taşı”, “Göçme”, “Altıev”, “Mereköçtü”.

Traditional Intelligence and Strategy Game: Mangala/Göçürme is a Turkish intelligence and strategy game which is usually played by two persons but it’s enable to be played by two groups too. It can be played on pits on the ground and also on special boards for the game. The aim of the game which is playable by the people in all ages and genders, is to gather most pellets. It can be used nuts, seeds and pearls instead of stones. The game can be played by two, three or four pits arranged in order according to the number of players and the type of the game. The pellets are distributed across the pits and the player who gathers most pellets wins the game. The duration of the game varies according to the number of players and the rules of the game. The game which had been played especially in palaces, inns and mosque’s courtyards during the Ottoman period, is seen one of the tools for socialization and culture sharing. It can be monitored on many depictions and miniatures belongs to Ottoman period. Today the element continues to function as socializing and cultural sharing with regards to be played at any time in different places such as houses, schools, courses and traditional celebration areas.The element which finds its place in a wide geography, has a form that improves cognitive, motor, and social skills of practitioners and enhances the players’ strategic and creative thinking. There are dozens of different kinds of this game on Earth. The Mangala/Göçürme game which can be played by people of all ages and genders, provides the appropriate environment for the transmission of various social practices, including information about oral culture, as well as for sharing the knowledge and thoughts of people from various parts of the society. Also, it has a structure that supports cultural interaction and diversity with its tournaments which are held in festive moods at the local, national and international levels.

Some examples of social practices are the protocols signed by local administrations and provincial national education directorates, mangala tournaments organized continuously in the provinces, and the festivals held annually such as Etnospor Culture Festival, which provides special area for the participation of the society and for playing the game. Mangala instructors’ trainings are also ongoing with projects carried out by federations and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the visually impaired mangala tournaments, which are designed by the concerned bodies and non-governmental organizations with mangala boards specially designed for the visually impaired, show that there are equal opportunities for mangala game. Projects that encourage teachers to learn mangala games in schools and students to play mangala games in free activities lessons indicate that the effort for inclusion the game officially into the education-training system has begun.

Throughout especially Ankara and İstanbul; concerned group and communities of the element are consist of heritage bearers and practitioners who plays the game, groups and communities who are gathering to play the game at universities and school clubs and concerned NGOs of the element.

“Traditional Intelligence and Strategy Game: Mangala / Göçürme” element is supported at the local, national and international level by encouraging activities for the implementation of the element, as it is perceived as a part of historical and cultural identity, strengthens the sense of cultural continuity and contributes to personal development as a game of intelligence and strategy.

"Traditional Intelligence and Strategy Game: Mangala/Göçürme, Togyzqumalaq, Toguz Korgool, " was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on behalf of the Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Turkey in 2020.