The game plays an important role in the Epic of Sundjata (c.1210-1255 or 1260), the first king and founder of the Mali Empire. It also appears to have been mentioned by the English traveller Richard Jobson who had been in Gambia in 1620. He wrote in his account Golden Trade (1623): The game has become in recent decades an important mindsport. Tournaments are held every year in Western Africa, many European countries, and in Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. In 2009, 810 students participated in an Oware tournament held in Mataro, Catalonia.