How do you play Mancala?

This page plays Kalah. Each player owns the six pits on their side and the store on their right, and every pit starts with four stones, 48 in all. On your turn, pick one of your pits with stones: its stones are sown one at a time counterclockwise into the following pits and your own store, skipping the other player's store. If the last stone lands in your store, you take exactly one extra turn. If it lands in an empty pit of yours and the pit opposite holds stones, both go to your store. When either row is empty at the end of a move, the stones left in the other row go to their owner's store, and the player with more stones wins; 24 each is a draw.

How does capturing work in Mancala?

A capture happens only when your last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side and the pit directly opposite holds stones: that stone and everything opposite go to your store, and the move log shows the total. If the pit opposite is empty, nothing is captured and the stone stays where it landed. A last stone in one of the other player's pits never captures. A pit of 13 or more stones sows all the way round, skipping the other store, and drops a stone back into the pit it started from, which counts as empty, so that last stone can capture. A capture that empties a row ends the game at once.

Can I play Mancala against the computer?

Yes. Choose Computer and a level; the computer always plays the top row. Easy looks one move ahead and plays a random legal pit about one move in three. Medium looks four moves ahead and Hard eight, counting each sowing, extra turns included, as one move. It scores a position by the difference between the two stores, with a finished game counting above any lead, and it stops at 200,000 positions for one move, keeping the deepest search it finished. It pauses briefly before it sows so you can follow the board. It is beatable, not perfect play.

Can two people play Mancala on one device?

Yes. Choose A friend: Player 1 has the bottom row and Player 2 the top, and you pass the device between turns. The pit buttons and the messages name whose turn it is, and Undo takes back one move at a time.

Who goes first in Mancala?

Sows first decides it: you or the computer, or Player 1 or Player 2 with two players. Changed before the first move, it starts a fresh game at once; during a game it applies from the next New game.

Is my game saved, and can I take a move back?

The game, the opponent, the level and who sows first are saved in this browser after each move, when the browser allows storage, and come back when you return; "saved in this browser" shows under the board once a save has worked. Undo takes back one move between two players; against the computer it takes back your last move and every computer move after it, and cancels a computer move that has not been played yet. Save .json downloads mancala-game.json with the moves, the board and the settings, and Copy puts the same JSON on the clipboard. Load .json or Paste a saved game brings it back, here or in another browser, after replaying every move under these rules; a file whose board does not match its moves is refused.

Can I play with the keyboard or on a phone?

Yes. Tab to the board, move between pits with the arrow keys, and press Enter or Space to sow; the keys 1 to 6 sow that pit while focus is inside the game panel. Under the board, six buttons, one per pit, sow with a tap and are at least 44 pixels tall on narrow screens. Every sowing, capture and extra turn is announced in words for screen readers, and the stone-by-stone sowing is skipped when your device asks for reduced motion.

Is this the same as Oware or other Mancala games?

No. Mancala is a family of sowing games, and this page plays only Kalah with six pits and four stones a side. Oware, Congkak and others sow and capture by different rules, and none of those rules are played here.

Mancala

Play Mancala by the Kalah rules: six pits a side, four stones in each and a store at each end. Take the bottom row against a computer at Easy, Medium or Hard, or pass the device between two players, and choose who sows first. Each sowing is drawn stone by stone, unless your device asks for reduced motion, and announced in words with any capture or extra turn spelled out, and the move log numbers every move. Undo takes back your last move, the game is kept in this browser, and Save .json writes a small file you can load or paste back later. The rules are played out on example boards below the game, and your moves are not sent anywhere.

Play against

Computer level

Sows first

boardsetting up

The computer's pits 1 to 6: 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4; its store 0. Your pits 1 to 6: 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4; your store 0. 48 stones in all.

you sow right, into your store, then along the computer's row, never its store

Sow from your pit, stones below

move logmove 1, you

no moves yet

Rules

Six pits a side with four stones in each, 48 in all, and a store at each end: yours is on your right.
On your turn, pick one of your pits with stones. Its stones are sown one at a time, counterclockwise, into the next pits, your own store included, but never the other player's store.
If the last stone lands in your store, you take exactly one extra turn.
If the last stone lands in an empty pit of yours and the pit opposite holds stones, both go to your store. If the opposite pit is empty, nothing is captured.
When either row is empty at the end of a move, the game ends and the stones left in the other row go to their owner's store. More stones wins; 24 each is a draw.

Your store: 0
Computer store: 0
Your legal pits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Stones: 48

Click or tap one of your pits, or press its button under the board. On the keyboard, Tab to the board, then ← → ↑ ↓ move between pits and Enter or Space sows; 1 to 6 sow that pit of the row to move while the game has focus. Undo takes back your last move, and against the computer its replies after it.

The rules, played on a board

Your pit 6, 1 stonelast stone lands in your store
exactly one extra turn; your store goes 3 to 4
Your pit 2, 1 stoneends in your empty pit 3, opposite the computer's pit 4 with 8
captures 1 + 8 = 9; your store goes 3 to 12
Your pit 5, 10 stonessows through the computer's row and on round
the computer's store stays at 8; your store goes 7 to 8 and the last stone ends in your pit 2
Your row runs out, the computer has 12 in its pitsat the end of any move
the game ends and those 12 go to the computer's store: 21 to 27, 48 in all

Paste a saved game

Common questions

How do you play Mancala?: This page plays Kalah. Each player owns the six pits on their side and the store on their right, and every pit starts with four stones, 48 in all. On your turn, pick one of your pits with stones: its stones are sown one at a time counterclockwise into the following pits and your own store, skipping the other player's store. If the last stone lands in your store, you take exactly one extra turn. If it lands in an empty pit of yours and the pit opposite holds stones, both go to your store. When either row is empty at the end of a move, the stones left in the other row go to their owner's store, and the player with more stones wins; 24 each is a draw.
How does capturing work in Mancala?: A capture happens only when your last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side and the pit directly opposite holds stones: that stone and everything opposite go to your store, and the move log shows the total. If the pit opposite is empty, nothing is captured and the stone stays where it landed. A last stone in one of the other player's pits never captures. A pit of 13 or more stones sows all the way round, skipping the other store, and drops a stone back into the pit it started from, which counts as empty, so that last stone can capture. A capture that empties a row ends the game at once.
Can I play Mancala against the computer?: Yes. Choose Computer and a level; the computer always plays the top row. Easy looks one move ahead and plays a random legal pit about one move in three. Medium looks four moves ahead and Hard eight, counting each sowing, extra turns included, as one move. It scores a position by the difference between the two stores, with a finished game counting above any lead, and it stops at 200,000 positions for one move, keeping the deepest search it finished. It pauses briefly before it sows so you can follow the board. It is beatable, not perfect play.
Can two people play Mancala on one device?: Yes. Choose A friend: Player 1 has the bottom row and Player 2 the top, and you pass the device between turns. The pit buttons and the messages name whose turn it is, and Undo takes back one move at a time.
Who goes first in Mancala?: Sows first decides it: you or the computer, or Player 1 or Player 2 with two players. Changed before the first move, it starts a fresh game at once; during a game it applies from the next New game.
Is my game saved, and can I take a move back?: The game, the opponent, the level and who sows first are saved in this browser after each move, when the browser allows storage, and come back when you return; "saved in this browser" shows under the board once a save has worked. Undo takes back one move between two players; against the computer it takes back your last move and every computer move after it, and cancels a computer move that has not been played yet. Save .json downloads mancala-game.json with the moves, the board and the settings, and Copy puts the same JSON on the clipboard. Load .json or Paste a saved game brings it back, here or in another browser, after replaying every move under these rules; a file whose board does not match its moves is refused.
Can I play with the keyboard or on a phone?: Yes. Tab to the board, move between pits with the arrow keys, and press Enter or Space to sow; the keys 1 to 6 sow that pit while focus is inside the game panel. Under the board, six buttons, one per pit, sow with a tap and are at least 44 pixels tall on narrow screens. Every sowing, capture and extra turn is announced in words for screen readers, and the stone-by-stone sowing is skipped when your device asks for reduced motion.
Is this the same as Oware or other Mancala games?: No. Mancala is a family of sowing games, and this page plays only Kalah with six pits and four stones a side. Oware, Congkak and others sow and capture by different rules, and none of those rules are played here.

Plays the Kalah rules shown on the page: six pits a side with four stones each, sowing counterclockwise into your own store but never the other player's, exactly one extra turn when your last stone lands in your store, a capture when it lands in an empty pit of yours whose opposite pit holds stones, and a final sweep when either row runs out. Other Mancala games such as Oware play differently and are not implied, and the computer looks a limited number of moves ahead, so it is beatable, not perfect play. There are no stakes or rewards.