Mancala is a free online version of the ancient seed sowing game, played with the popular Kalah rules. Play against the computer or share one screen with a friend. It runs in your browser with no download or sign up, works on phones and computers, and keeps working offline once loaded.
Inspired by: Mancala, the ancient sowing game, played here with Kalah rules.
How to play Mancala
- Each side has six pits with four seeds each, and a large store to the side. Your store is on your right.
- On your turn, pick one of your pits. All its seeds are sown one by one, moving anticlockwise around the board.
- You drop a seed in your own store each time you pass it, but you skip your opponent's store.
- If your last seed lands in your store, you get another turn.
- If your last seed lands in an empty pit on your side, you capture that seed and all the seeds in the pit opposite.
- The game ends when one side has no seeds left. The other side keeps its remaining seeds. The bigger store wins.
Controls
- Keyboard: Left and right arrows choose a pit, and Space or Enter plays it.
- Mouse: Click one of your pits.
- Touch screen: Tap one of your glowing pits.
Tips to score higher
- Count ahead. A pit with the right number of seeds ends exactly in your store, which earns an extra turn.
- Keep an empty pit on your side when the opposite pit is full. It is a capture waiting to happen.
- Empty your right hand pits first when you can. Seeds there reach your store with fewer moves.
- Watch your opponent's pits too. Block their captures by filling the empty pit they need.
- In the late game, hoarding seeds on your side can give you the last big move.
The story behind Mancala
Mancala is the name of a whole family of sowing and counting games, and it is one of the oldest games in the world. Boards cut into stone and carved in wood have been found at archaeological sites in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and many are thought to be thousands of years old. In southern India a similar game called Pallanguzhi is played on a wooden board with shells or tamarind seeds, often by families at home. The Kalah version used here was popularised in the United States in the 1940s. If you ever played with seeds in the dirt or on a carved board, you already know how calming it feels.
Questions players ask
Is this Mancala game free?
Yes. It is free with no sign up, no download and no in-game purchases.
Which Mancala rules does it use?
It uses Kalah rules. Each side has six pits with four seeds, you get an extra turn for ending in your store, and you capture by ending in an empty pit on your side.
Which direction do I sow?
Anticlockwise. Seeds go to your right along your row, into your store, then along your opponent's row, skipping their store.
Can I play with a friend?
Yes. Choose 2 players and take turns on the same screen. The bottom row belongs to the first player and the top row to the second.
Can I play Mancala offline?
Yes. After you open the page once online, the game keeps working without internet.