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Sow the seeds, fill your store

Mancala online

Play Mancala online with a friend or a bot, in Kalah rules. Sow seeds around the pits, capture the pit opposite, and finish with more in your store than your opponent.

Mancala is one of the oldest games in the world and it is all about counting ahead. When your last seed lands exactly in your own store you go again — and a well-counted chain of turns can take half the board in one go.

Players2 players
Game length10 minutes
H
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How to play

  1. Each player has six pits of four seeds and one store.
  2. Pick a pit and sow its seeds one by one, anticlockwise.
  3. Your opponent’s store is skipped — a seed never lands there.
  4. If your last seed lands in your store, you move again.
  5. If it lands in an empty pit of yours and the pit opposite holds seeds, you capture them along with it.
  6. When one side is empty, the other takes the rest. The bigger store wins.

Strategy

  • Count ahead for the extra turn. Two or three moves chained together is the biggest gain the game offers.
  • An empty pit on your side is a trap — land your last seed there and the pit opposite is yours.
  • Don’t leave a big pile opposite your opponent’s empty pit. One well-counted sow lands there and takes the whole pile.
  • In the endgame, emptying your side can pay if your opponent is holding a lot — they collect their own, but you may already be ahead.

Frequently asked

Which Mancala rules do you use?

Kalah 6/4 — six pits a side, four seeds each. It is the most widespread variant and the one most people mean by “Mancala”.

Can I sow into my opponent’s store?

No, it is skipped. Into your own, yes — which is exactly how the extra turn works.

When does the game end?

As soon as one side is left with no seeds. The other player collects whatever remains on their side and the stores are compared.

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