How to play Mancala
Mancala is a game of sowing and capturing stones, played here against Anne, the computer. Each of you has a row of six pits and a store. You take turns picking up the stones in one of your pits and dropping them one at a time around the board. When the game ends, the player with more stones in their store wins. We play the rules most people in America know, often called Kalah.
The board
Your six pits are the bottom row, and your store is the big pit on the right. Anne's pits are the top row, and Anne's store is on the left. Every pit starts with four stones, 48 in all, and the stores start empty.
Taking a turn
- Tap one of your pits that has stones in it. You pick up all its stones and sow them counter-clockwise: one in each pit to the right, then into your store, then along Anne's row from right to left. You skip Anne's store, but drop stones in your own.
- Go again: if your last stone lands in your store, you take another turn straight away.
- Capture: if your last stone lands in an empty pit on your side, and the pit straight across has stones in it, you capture that stone and all the stones across from it into your store.
- The same rules apply to Anne.
The end of the game
The game ends as soon as all six pits on one side are empty. The other player then puts all the stones left on their side into their own store. The player with more stones in their store wins; with 48 stones, 25 is enough to be sure of winning.
Tips
- Take every free turn, nearest the store first. A pit with exactly enough stones to reach your store gives you another turn: the pit next to your store needs one stone, the one before it two, and so on. Play the one nearest your store first, so the others still reach it afterwards. In our tests, these were the two most valuable habits.
- Then look for captures. An empty pit on your side, with a full pit across from it, is a chance to capture the lot.
- Count to the end. When one side runs out of stones, the other player keeps everything left on their side, so near the end count the stones on the board, not just in the stores.
- Ask for a hint. It shows the move Anne would make in your place and says why: another turn, a capture, or the best move a few turns ahead.
Questions
How good is Anne?
Choose a level in Settings. On Easy, Anne looks one move ahead; on Medium, four moves; on Hard, eight. In our tests, Easy beat a player making random moves 86 games in 100, Medium beat Easy 87 in 100, and Hard beat Medium 89 in 100.
Who moves first?
It alternates: you move first in odd-numbered games, and Anne in even-numbered ones. Moving first is an advantage. In our tests between two equal players, the first player won about 63 of every 100 games that weren't drawn, and computer analysis has shown that with perfect play, the first player always wins.
Is any money involved?
No. Mancala here is played just for fun: there's no betting, no prizes and no real money, and nothing to buy.
Can I take back a move?
Yes. Undo takes back your last move, and Anne's replies. Your game also saves itself, so you can stop at any time.
Where does Mancala come from?
Mancala is a whole family of very old games played with seeds or stones in rows of pits, found across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The version played here, Kalah, was first patented and sold in the United States by William Julius Champion Jr. in the 1950s, and it's the Mancala most American families know.