How to play Mancala
- Each side has six pits and a store. Your pits are on the bottom row, your store is on the right.
- Tap one of your pits: its seeds are sown one by one into the following pits, moving to the right and around the board, skipping your opponent’s store.
- If your last seed lands in your store, you play again.
- If your last seed lands in one of your empty pits, you capture it along with all the seeds in the pit opposite.
- When one side has no seeds left, each player keeps what remains on their side. The fuller store wins.
Tips
- Look for pits whose seeds land exactly in your store: free extra turns.
- Count before you play: a capture can turn the game around.
- Keep an eye on your opponent’s empty pits facing your full ones.
- Near the end, holding many seeds on your side can be a good thing: they go to your store.
- On Easy and Medium, and with two players, Undo takes back your last move along with the computer's answer. On Hard, every move counts.
About Mancala
Mancala is the name of a family of sowing games played for centuries across Africa and Asia. This version follows the Kalah rules, the most popular in the English-speaking world.
The computer explores the game tree and counts the seeds each move would win. On Easy it looks one move ahead, on Hard about six, including extra turns.
Points and badges
Finishing a game of Mancala earns points for your level. Four badges are waiting in this game, from bronze to diamond: each one says what to do and adds bonus points.
Questions
Which rules are these?
The Kalah rules: six pits a side, four seeds per pit, extra turn when the last seed lands in your store, capture when it lands in your empty pit.
Do I skip my opponent’s store?
Yes. When sowing, you put seeds in your own store but skip your opponent’s.
Can I play with a friend?
Yes. Choose 2 players and take turns on the same screen.