About Mancala
Mancala is the name for a family of seed-sowing games, and this version uses the popular Kalah rules. You pick up all the seeds from one of your pits and sow them around the board, aiming to fill your store faster than the computer fills its own.
How to play
- Each side has six pits with four seeds each, 48 seeds in total, plus a store. Your pits are the bottom row and your store is on the right; the computer's store is on the left. You move first.
- On your turn, choose one of your non-empty pits. All its seeds are sown one at a time into the following pits anticlockwise, including your own store but skipping the computer's store.
- If the last seed lands in your store, you take another turn.
- If the last seed lands in one of your own pits that was empty and the computer's pit directly opposite holds seeds, you capture both: the opposite seeds plus your last seed go into your store. If the opposite pit is empty, nothing is captured.
- When either side's six pits are all empty, the game ends and each player adds the seeds left on their own side to their store.
- Whoever has more seeds in their store wins. A 24 to 24 finish is a draw. The Wins counter tracks your victories and your Best is the most wins you have reached.
Controls
- Click or tap one of the highlighted pits on the bottom row to sow from it. Only pits with seeds are clickable.
- Each pit shows its seed count as a number, with small dots for the first dozen seeds.
- Pits are buttons, so Tab and Enter or Space also work.
Tips and strategy
- Count before you move. A pit holding exactly as many seeds as it is away from your store gives you a free turn.
- Take free turns from the pits nearest your store first, so the moves further left still land in the store afterwards.
- Watch for empty pits on your side that a short sow can reach; they set up captures. Watch the computer's empty pits too, and do not leave big piles opposite them.
- A large pile in your rightmost pits is hard to use well. Sometimes it is better to sow it early before it grows into a target.
- Near the end, remember that the seeds left on each side go to that side's owner. Emptying your side early can hand the computer everything it still has.
Background
Sowing games are among the oldest board games still played, with many regional versions across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, such as Oware and Bao. The word mancala comes from Arabic and is used today as a name for the whole family. Kalah, the version played here, was devised and sold in the United States by William Julius Champion Jr. in the mid twentieth century, and it is the variant most people in North America know as Mancala.
Questions
- How strong is the computer?
- It looks one move ahead: for each pit it compares the store totals after sowing, gives a bonus for free turns, and subtracts the best immediate gain you could make in reply. It is greedy but punishes careless moves, especially open captures.
- Why didn't I capture when I landed in an empty pit?
- In this version a capture only happens when the opposite pit has seeds in it. If it is empty, your last seed simply stays where it landed.
- Are the seeds left on the board counted?
- Yes. When one side runs out, the remaining seeds on each side are moved into their owner's store before the totals are compared.