How to play Mancala
- Choose your opponent: the computer (pick a level and who goes first) or a friend on the same device.
- On your turn, tap one of your pits (the ones on your side of the board): all its seeds are picked up and sown one by one into the following pits, including your store but not your opponent's.
- If your last seed lands in your store, you play again. If it lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, you capture both.
- The game ends when one side runs out of seeds. The player with more seeds in their store wins.
About Mancala (Kalah)
Mancala is a family of sowing games that has been played for centuries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The best-known version in the West is Kalah, with six pits per side and a store at each end. You can choose to start with 3, 4 or 6 seeds per pit.
A good tactic is to look for moves that end exactly in your store so you play twice in a row, and to protect your pits that hold many seeds from captures. The easy level plays almost at random, medium calculates a few moves ahead and hard looks much further. Everything is calculated on your device.
Good to know
- There are many Mancala variants (Oware, Bao, Congkak…) with different rules; this game uses the Kalah rules.
- When one side runs out of seeds, the other player adds the seeds left on their side to their store.
- Scores and settings are saved only in this browser. Against the computer, Undo takes back your move and its reply.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Mancala?
On your turn, you pick up all the seeds from one of your pits and sow them one by one into the following pits, counterclockwise, including your store but skipping your opponent's. The player who collects the most seeds in their store wins.
When do I play twice in a row?
When your last seed lands exactly in your store.
How does capturing work?
If your last seed lands in one of your own pits that was empty and the pit opposite has seeds, you take those seeds plus your own into your store.
How many seeds should I start with?
4 is the most common. With 3 the game is shorter, and with 6 it is longer and more tactical.
Is it free? Do I need to install anything?
It's free, needs no sign-up and runs right in your browser.