One of the oldest families of board games in the world, Mancala games involve a board of pits (holes) and a supply of stones (seeds). On each turn a player picks up all the stones from one of their pits and 'sows' them one-by-one into subsequent pits. Captures happen according to variant-specific rules. The most common Western version is Kalah, played on a 2x6 board with stores at each end.

How to Play Mancala (Kalah Rules)

Overview

Mancala (Kalah variant) is a two-player abstract strategy game played on a board with two rows of six small pits and one larger "store" (mancala) at each end. Each player owns the six pits on their side and the store to their right. Players take turns picking up all stones from one of their pits and sowing them counterclockwise. The goal is to capture more stones than your opponent.

Components

• 1 Mancala board with 2 rows of 6 pits and 2 stores (one at each end).

• 48 stones (or seeds, beads, or counters).

Setup

1. Place the board between the two players so each player has a row of 6 pits in front of them.

2. Each player's store is the large pit to their right.

3. Place 4 stones in each of the 12 small pits (48 stones total). Stores start empty.

4. Decide who goes first (random, youngest, or alternate each game).

Turn Structure

Players alternate turns. On your turn:

1) Choose a pit

• Pick up all the stones from any one of your six pits that contains at least one stone.

• You may not pick from an empty pit or from your opponent's pits.

2) Sow the stones

• Moving counterclockwise (to the right along your row, then continuing along your opponent's row), drop one stone into each subsequent pit.

• Include your own store when passing it (drop a stone in).

• Skip your opponent's store entirely (never drop a stone into it).

• Continue around the board as many times as needed until all picked-up stones are placed.

3) Check where the last stone landed

The outcome depends on where your last stone falls:

• In your store: You get a free turn. Pick up from another of your pits and sow again. (Multiple consecutive free turns are possible.)

• In an empty pit on your side: If that pit was empty before the stone landed and the pit directly across (on your opponent's side) contains stones, you capture both your last-placed stone and all the stones in the opposite pit. Place all captured stones into your store.

• Anywhere else: Your turn ends normally.

End of Game

The game ends when one player's six pits are all empty on their turn. When this happens:

• The player who still has stones in their pits collects all remaining stones on their side and places them into their own store.

• (This does not mean that player "wins" those stones through skill; it is a cleanup rule.)

Determining the Winner

• Count the stones in each player's store.

• The player with more stones wins.

• If both players have exactly 24 stones, the game is a draw (rare but possible).

Common Variations and House Rules

• Starting stones: Some sets use 3 stones per pit (36 total) instead of 4 (48 total). Agree before starting.

• No capture rule (simplified): Some casual groups skip the "capture from the opposite pit" rule entirely; this changes the strategy significantly and is not official Kalah.

• Oware rules: A different Mancala family where captures happen when sowing leaves exactly 2 or 3 stones in an opponent's pit. Oware is the standard in West African and competitive tournament play.

• Empty-side capture: Official Kalah rules collect remaining stones to the side that still has them; some house rules split them differently.

Key Concepts for Good Play

• Free turns are tempo. Landing your last stone in your store gives you another move, which compounds advantages quickly.

• The capture threat is real. An empty pit on your side paired with a loaded pit across from it is a setup for a big capture; watch both your own and your opponent's capture opportunities.

• Counting matters. Unlike many casual games, counting the exact number of stones in pits lets you predict where your last stone will land and plan captures or free turns deliberately.

Each player's final score is the total stones in their store. Higher score wins. A tie at 24-24 is a draw.

The final store count is a single accumulated total (captures, free-turn gains, and the end-of-game cleanup all flow into the same store and cannot be separately observed at game end), so it does not decompose into additive sub-component metrics — record total_points (score) as the authoritative outcome.