How to Play Mancala
To play mancala, put four seeds in each of the twelve pits. On your turn, lift all the seeds from one of your six pits and sow them one per pit counter-clockwise, into your own store but not your opponent's. If the last seed lands in your store, go again; in an empty pit of yours, capture the pit opposite. When one side is empty, each player banks their own row and the bigger store wins.
The rules, step by step
- 1Set out the seedsPut four seeds in each of the twelve pits and leave both stores empty. Your six pits are the row nearest you, and your store is the one on your right.
- 2Sow one of your pitsLift every seed from one of your own pits and drop them one at a time into the following pits counter-clockwise, including your store but skipping your opponent's.
- 3Last seed in your store: go againIf the final seed lands in your own store you take another turn at once, and store landings can chain one after another.
- 4Last seed in an empty pit of yours: captureIf the final seed lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite holds seeds, both that seed and the opposite pit go into your store.
- 5Big pits lap the boardA pit with thirteen or more seeds goes all the way round, sowing back into the pit it came from; your opponent's store is still skipped.
- 6Count the stores when a side runs outWhen all six pits on either side are empty, each player banks the seeds left on their own side. The bigger store wins; equal stores are a draw.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game sets four seeds in every pit with you moving first — both can be changed, along with the opponent and the sowing speed, in the ⋯ menu. Click one of your six pits, or choose one with the Left and Right arrow keys and press Enter, to sow it; hovering or focusing a pit shows where its last seed will land before you commit.
Your statistics · Medium
- Played
- 0
- Won
- 0
- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
- —
- Most seeds
- —
Looks four sowings ahead, extra turns included, and counts only the stores.
Keyboard
- Left / Right
- Choose a pit
- Enter / Space
- Sow it
- 1 – 6
- Sow a pit directly
- S
- Skip the animation
- N
- New game
- F
- Full screen
How does one turn of mancala work?
- 1Choose one of your pitsAny of your six pits with at least one seed in it. You may never sow an empty pit, one of your opponent's pits, or a store.
- 2Lift every seed in itThe whole pit, always — there is no taking some and leaving the rest. The pit is now empty.
- 3Sow one seed per pit, counter-clockwiseAlong your row towards your store, one seed into your store, then along your opponent's row. Their store is skipped, and a big pit carries on round past where it started.
- 4Read where the last seed landedYour store means another turn. An empty pit of yours, with seeds opposite, means a capture. Anything else hands the turn to your opponent.
How do captures work in mancala?
Your last seed has to land in a pit on your own side that was empty before it arrived, and the pit directly opposite has to hold at least one seed. Then both go to your store: the seed you just sowed and everything across from it. Landing in an empty pit on your opponent's side captures nothing, and neither does an empty pit of yours with an empty pit facing it.
- The opposite pit is the one straight across the board. Your pit nearest your store faces your opponent's pit furthest from theirs, and the other way round.
- Empty means before the last seed. A pit your sowing passed through earlier in the same move is not empty when the last seed arrives.
- Thirteen seeds always capture. They lap the board once and land back in the pit you emptied, opposite a pit that has just been given a seed.
- A capture ends your turn. Only a last seed in your store gives you another move.
How do you win at mancala?
Play stops the moment either row of six pits is empty. Each player then moves every seed left on their own side into their own store, and whoever has more seeds in store wins. With 48 seeds in the standard game, 25 is enough to win outright and 24 each is a draw.
Because of that sweep, it is not always good to empty your own side. If your opponent still has a full row when yours runs out, all of it goes into their store — so near the end, count both stores and both rows before deciding which side should run dry first.
How do you win more often?
- Take the free turn at the startWith four seeds a pit, your third pit from the left ends exactly in your store, so sow it first and you move again before your opponent has touched the board. Every seed setting has one such opening pit.
- Chain store landings from the store outwardsWhen two or more of your pits would each end in your store, sow the one nearest the store first. Sowing a pit further away drops a seed into the nearer one, changes its count and throws away the second free turn.
- Look at your opponent's empty pits before you moveAn empty pit on their side with a pile of yours directly opposite is a capture waiting to happen. Move the pile, or sow a seed into that empty pit so it is no longer empty, before your opponent gets there.
- Grow a pit to thirteenThirteen seeds lap the board exactly and land back in the pit they came from, which is empty by then, while the pit opposite has just been given a seed. It is a capture your opponent can only stop by sowing into that pit and pushing it past thirteen.
- Count the sweep before the endWhen one side runs dry, the other player keeps everything left on their own row. Before emptying your side, add your store to what your opponent will bank from theirs — running out first can hand them the game.
Common questions about mancala
- Which way do you sow in mancala?
- Counter-clockwise, seen from above: along your own row towards the store on your right, into that store, then back along your opponent's row, skipping their store at the far end.
- Can you choose not to capture in mancala?
- No. If your last seed lands in an empty pit of yours with seeds opposite, the capture happens automatically. The choice you have is which pit to sow, not what happens afterwards.
- Do you have to move if you have seeds on your side?
- Yes. Passing is not allowed, and while you have any seeds on your side you always have a legal move. The game ends before you could ever be left with nothing to sow.
Ready to stop reading? Play mancala on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.