How to Play Mancala

The board and the setup

A Mancala board has two rows of six small pits and a large pit at each end, called the store (some sets call it the mancala or the bank). Each player owns the row nearest to them and the store on their right. To start, put four seeds in each of the twelve pits, 48 in all, and leave both stores empty. Decide who goes first; the board above lets you choose.

Sowing: how a move works

On your turn, pick up all the seeds from any one of your own pits. Then, starting with the pit to its right, drop one seed into each pit in turn, moving counter-clockwise around the board:

• along your row to the right,
• into your own store,
• along your opponent's row, which runs right to left from where you sit,
• past your opponent's store without dropping a seed in it, and on into your row again.

With 13 or more seeds in a pit you go all the way round and drop a seed back into the pit you started from. You may not pass, and you may only play a pit on your own side that has seeds in it.

Extra turns

If the last seed of your move lands in your own store, you play again straight away. Count before you move: a pit that is exactly as many seeds away from your store as it holds will end there. At the start of a standard game, your third pit from the left has four seeds and is four steps from your store, which is why it is the classic opening move. Extra turns can chain: there is no limit to how many you take in a row.

Capturing

If the last seed of your move lands in an empty pit on your own side, and the pit directly opposite has seeds in it, you capture: take that last seed and all the seeds opposite, and put them in your store. Your turn then ends.

There is no capture if the last seed lands in an empty pit on your opponent's side, or if the pit opposite is empty. Some families play that you still bank the single seed in that case; this game follows the usual Kalah rule and leaves it where it is.

The end of the game

The game ends as soon as all six pits on one side are empty, whoever's turn it is. The other player then moves every seed still on their side into their own store. Count the stores: the player with more seeds wins. With 48 seeds, 25 or more always wins, and 24 each is a draw.

Avalanche mode

Avalanche, the second option above the board, is the variant popularised by the Mancala game in iMessage. Sowing, extra turns and the end of the game work the same way, but there are no captures. Instead:

• If your last seed lands in a pit that already had seeds, on either side of the board, pick up everything in that pit, including the seed you just dropped, and carry on sowing from there.
• If your last seed lands in an empty pit, your turn ends.
• If your last seed lands in your store, you take another turn as usual.

Because one move can keep going around the board, Avalanche turns are long and the lead swings fast. Moving first is a big advantage: see how to win Avalanche.

Common questions about the rules

Do you put a seed in your opponent's store?

No. You always skip the opponent's store, so seeds only ever reach your own.

Can you capture from your opponent's side?

Only from the pit opposite your landing pit, and only when you land in an empty pit on your own side.

What if I have no seeds left but it is not my turn?

The game is already over: it ends the moment either side is empty, and the remaining seeds go to the player on whose side they are.