Mancala: sow, capture and fill your store

Mancala, free online

Mancala is one of the oldest families of board games in the world, played for many centuries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia under names like Oware, Bao and Congkak. The idea is always the same: seeds, stones or shells are moved around a board of pits by sowing them one at a time, and players try to capture more than their opponent.

The version here uses the Kalah rules, the most widely played form of mancala in North America and Europe. It is quick to learn, children love it, and it rewards counting ahead. Play the computer on easy, medium or hard, or choose 2 players to play a friend on one screen.

How to play here

Tap one of your pits on the bottom row. Its seeds are sown one by one to the right, around the board and into your store on the right, skipping your opponent’s store on the left. Each move is animated seed by seed so you can follow it. Pits you can play are outlined, and the status line tells you when you earn an extra turn or make a capture. The counters above the board show both stores.

Strategy that works

1. Start with an extra turn. At the beginning of the game, the pit four spaces from your store holds exactly four seeds, so sowing it ends in your store and gives you another move.
2. Chain extra turns. After an extra turn, look again: a pit closer to your store may now have exactly the right number too.
3. Set up captures. Leave an empty pit on your side opposite a pit your opponent is filling up, then aim a move to land in it.
4. Defend against captures. Before you move, check which of your empty pits your opponent can reach, and what is sitting opposite them.
5. Keep seeds on your side near the end. When the game ends, the seeds on your side go to your store. Emptying your own side too early hands the rest of the board to your opponent.

Why play mancala?

Mancala is pure counting and planning, with no luck at all, which is why it has been used for generations to teach children arithmetic and strategic thinking. A game takes five to ten minutes, and there is always a clever extra turn or capture waiting to be found. For more strategy against the computer, try Checkers and Reversi.

How to play Mancala

1. The board has two rows of six pits with four seeds in each, and a large store at each end. Your pits are the bottom row and your store is on the right.
2. On your turn, pick one of your pits. Take all its seeds and sow them one by one into the following pits, counterclockwise, including your own store but skipping your opponent's store.
3. If your last seed lands in your own store, you take another turn.
4. If your last seed lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, you capture both, and all of them go to your store.
5. The game ends when all six pits on one side are empty. Each player adds the seeds left on their side to their own store, and the fuller store wins.

Mancala tips

Count to your store

A pit with exactly as many seeds as the distance to your store gives you an extra turn. Look for these moves first, starting with the pit closest to the store.

Protect your big pits

A pit full of seeds opposite an empty pit on your opponent's side is a target. Move it or make sure the empty pit cannot be reached.

Hoard in the last pit

Seeds piling up in the pit next to your store are hard for your opponent to capture and can be released at the right moment.

Think about the end

When one side runs empty the game ends at once, and the remaining seeds go to the other player. Count before you empty your own side.

Frequently asked questions