Mancala rules
Every Mancala game works the same way at heart. You pick up all the seeds in one pit and sow them one by one into the pits that follow. The games differ in three things: how you gain an extra move, how you capture, and how the game ends. The table shows the three we play here.
| Variant | Board | Goal | What makes it different |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalah | 6 pits a side, 4 seeds each, 2 stores, 48 seeds | Most seeds in your store when a row runs empty | Last seed in your store: move again. Last seed in your own empty pit: capture the pit opposite. |
| Oware | 6 pits a side, 4 seeds each, 48 seeds | 25 seeds captured | Capture pits of two or three on the far side, chained backwards. You must feed an opponent with an empty row. |
| Congklak | 7 pits a side, 7 seeds each, 2 stores, 98 seeds | Most seeds in your store when a row runs empty | Land in an occupied pit and you pick it up and keep sowing. Land in your own empty pit and you capture opposite. |
The family is much larger. Bao, Ayo, Toguz Korgool, Pallanguzhi and dozens more are described on the variants page. Mancala variants →