Mancala games

Mancala games are a classic family of two-player, turn-based strategy board games that have been enjoyed for centuries across various cultures. Played with small stones, beans, or seeds and a board featuring rows of pits, these games emphasize tactical thinking and planning. The core objective typically revolves around capturing more of your opponent's pieces than they do of yours. With roots stretching back to ancient times, mancala games like Oware, Bao, and Omweso are not only entertaining but also serve as a testament to the enduring appeal of simple yet deeply strategic gameplay.

This digital adaptation brings together several popular variants from the mancala family—Kalah, Oware, and Congkak—offering players an authentic and engaging experience. The game board consists of six small pits, known as houses, on each side, along with a larger pit at each end called a store or end zone. The goal remains consistent across versions: capture more seeds than your opponent by using clever sowing and capturing techniques.

Kalah Rules

1. At the start of the game, each house contains four seeds (though some variations use five or six).
2. Each player controls the six houses on their side of the board. A player’s score is determined by the number of seeds in their store, located to their right.
3. On a turn, a player picks up all seeds from one of their houses and sows them one by one into subsequent houses in a counter-clockwise direction. Sowing includes the player’s own store but skips the opponent’s store.
4. If the last seed sown lands in an empty house on the player’s side and the opposite house contains seeds, the player captures both the last seed and all seeds from the opposite house, placing them in their store.
5. If the last seed lands directly in the player’s store, the player earns an additional move. There is no limit to how many extra moves a player can earn in a single turn.
6. The game ends when one player has no seeds left in any of their houses. The other player then moves all remaining seeds on their side to their store. The player with the most seeds in their store is declared the winner.

Oware Rules

1. Each house begins with four seeds (some versions use five or six). Each player controls the six houses on their side, and their score is the total seeds in their right-hand store.
2. On their turn, a player removes all seeds from one of their houses and sows them counter-clockwise, dropping one seed per house. Seeds are not placed into the scoring stores, and the original house is left empty. If a house contains 12 or more seeds, it is skipped during sowing after the twelfth seed is placed in the next house.
3. Capturing occurs when the final seed sown brings an opponent’s house to exactly two or three seeds. In this case, those seeds are captured. If the preceding house also contains two or three seeds and belongs to the opponent, it is captured as well—this chain continues backward until a non-capturable house is reached.
4. If all of the opponent’s houses are empty, the current player must make a move that deposits seeds into the opponent’s side. If no such move exists, the player captures all remaining seeds in their own houses, ending the game immediately.
5. The game concludes when a player captures more than half of the total seeds, securing victory. If both players end up with exactly half, the result is a draw.

Whether you're mastering the timing of a perfect Kalah sweep or strategizing your next Oware capture sequence, this game delivers rich, thoughtful gameplay in a clean and intuitive format. Sharpen your mind and challenge your friend—or the AI—and experience the timeless joy of mancala.

What's New in Version 1.4.1

Last updated on Aug 6, 2024 – bugfixes