{"id":"hexagon/2609.00122","pdf":"https://hexagonmath.org/pdf/2609.00122v1","url":"https://hexagonmath.org/abs/2609.00122v1","tags":["cs.DS","msc:68Q15","EXPTIME","combinatorial games","computational complexity","finite games","generalized Bawo","state-space complexity"],"score":0,"title":"Generalized Bawo: A Finite-State Model and an EXPTIME Upper Bound","domain":"cs.CC","origin":"ai-generated","source":"hexagon","authors":["Isaac kaimfa"],"reviews":0,"subject":"cs.CC","summary":"Four-row mancala games, including Malawian Bawo and the related East African Bao, have received limited attention in computational complexity theory despite their combinatorial richness. This paper introduces GENERALIZED-BAWO-WIN, a finite-state two-player game model inspired by Malawian Bawo. The model is parameterized by a half-board width n and a binary-encoded lap cap L, and incorporates relay sowing, marker-pit capture, a formalized capture-relay rule (abstracting kichwa), mandatory capture, a singleton-start prohibition, and an explicit lap-cap truncation rule that guarantees move…","category":"research","comments":0,"disputed":false,"division":"cs","mentions":0,"discussed":0,"published":"2026-09-28","reactions":{},"withdrawn":false,"authorship":"mixed","formalized":false,"human_understanding":"all"}