Mancala Rules

Overview

Mancala is one of the oldest known games in human history, with origins dating back over 7,000 years. Played across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, it is known by many names — Mangala in Turkey, Kalah in the West, and Mankala in Arabic. The game involves strategic seed-sowing and capturing to collect the most seeds in your store.

The Board

The Mancala board has two rows of six small pits (holes) with a large store (Mancala) at each end. Each player owns the six pits on their side and the store to their right. The bottom row belongs to you and the top row belongs to your opponent.

Setup

Place 4 seeds (stones) in each of the 12 small pits. Both stores start empty. This gives a total of 48 seeds in play. The goal is to collect more than 24 seeds in your store to win.

Sowing Seeds

On your turn, pick up ALL the seeds from one of YOUR six pits and distribute them counter-clockwise:

1. Pick up all seeds from any one of your non-empty pits.
2. Moving counter-clockwise (to the right on your side, then left on your opponent's side), drop one seed into each pit.
3. Include your own store when passing it — drop a seed in.
4. SKIP your opponent's store — never drop seeds in their store.

Extra Turn Rule

If the last seed you sow lands in YOUR store, you get another turn immediately. This is one of the most powerful mechanics in Mancala — skilled players chain multiple extra turns in a row, gaining huge advantages.

Capture Rule

Capturing is how you gain a big advantage:

• If the last seed you sow lands in an EMPTY pit on YOUR side...
• AND the pit directly OPPOSITE (on your opponent's side) contains seeds...
• You capture BOTH your landing seed and ALL the seeds from the opposite pit, placing them all in your store.

Ending the Game

The game ends when all six pits on one player's side are completely empty. When this happens, the other player collects all remaining seeds on their side and places them in their store. Then both players count the seeds in their stores.

Winning

The player with more seeds in their store wins. Since there are 48 seeds total, you need at least 25 to win. A 24-24 split is a draw, though this is rare.