I shared this game from (Southern) Africa with friends in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan - by making the board and the pieces from memory. I think they enjoyed it, and it diversified the world of board games in Japan just that little bit - and hopefully increased international understanding. The game is called Morabaraba and it is big in parts of South Africa.
The game is also referred to as Twelve Man's Morris, different from Nine Men's Morris, which was played in the Roman empire. Description of game is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morabaraba
