Mancala is a seed-sowing board game for two, played here with the Kalah rules on a board of twelve bowls and two long stores. You pick up all the seeds in one of your bowls and drop them one by one around the board. The aim is to end with more seeds in your store than your rival has in theirs. This version from moparisthebest offers seven computer players with different habits, colorful marbles and a board that turns to fit your screen.
How to Play Mancala
Your bowls are the six on the bottom row, and your store is the tall bowl on the right. The top row and the left store belong to your opponent. Every bowl starts with four seeds.
On your turn, choose one of your bowls that is not empty. Its seeds travel counterclockwise, one per bowl, including your own store but never your opponent’s. If the last seed drops into your store, you move again. If it lands in an empty bowl on your side and the bowl across holds seeds, you capture both piles into your store.
The game ends when one player’s six bowls are all empty. The other player moves whatever is left on their side into their own store, and the bigger store wins. In 2 Players 1 Screen mode, Red plays the top row and Green plays the bottom row.
Mancala Controls
| Action | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Sow the seeds from a bowl | Click one of your bowls | Tap one of your bowls |
| Switch seeds between marbles and numbers | Click either store | Tap either store |
| Open the menu | Click the gear button, or press and hold a store | Tap the gear button, or press and hold a store |
| Choose a mode and opponent | Click a mode on the start screen, then an opponent | Tap a mode on the start screen, then an opponent |
Tips and Strategies
- Count to your store. A bowl holding exactly as many seeds as it is far from your store gives a free extra turn. Look for these first.
- Guard bowls facing big piles. If your opponent can finish in an empty bowl across from a large pile of yours, that pile is in danger. Move it or fill the empty bowl.
- Keep an empty bowl ready. An empty bowl on your side, facing a full one, sets up a capture for a later turn.
- Watch the end game. When your side is nearly empty, the seeds left on your opponent’s row go to them. Hold seeds back if their row is rich.
- Study the simple bots. Bob and Bill always play the same bowl type, so you can predict them and practice capture setups.
Features
- Three ways to play: two people on one screen, you against the computer with a choice of who starts, or computer against computer.
- Seven computer opponents: Bob, Bill, Charlie, Jan, Jill, Thomas and Alice, each with a short description of how it plays.
- Display options: marbles or numbers, turn info and scores, board rotation, board size and sowing speed.
- Built-in rules: a How to Play screen sits on the start page and in the menu.
Tested and updated:
