The Ancient Game of Mancala

Mancala represents a captivating family of two-player strategy board games played across cultures for centuries. Using simple materials like stones, beans or seeds, players strategically move pieces along rows of pits carved into earth, wood, or game boards.

Game Varieties

This digital adaptation brings three classic variations to your fingertips:

• Kalah - The most widespread Western variant
• Oware - A sophisticated African version with unique capture rules
• Congkak - Popular across Southeast Asia

Game Components

The setup features:

• A board with 12 small pits (6 per side) called "houses"
• 2 large scoring pits ("stores") at each end
• 48-72 seeds or counters (typically 4-6 per house)

Basic Gameplay

The core objective remains consistent across versions - systematically capture more seeds than your opponent through strategic sowing and capturing:

Kalah Specific Rules

1. The game begins with 4-6 seeds per house
2. Players control their six houses and right-side store
3. Sowing involves distributing seeds counter-clockwise, skipping the opponent's store
4. Special captures occur when your final seed lands in your empty house across from an opponent's occupied house
5. Landing in your store grants an extra turn
6. The game ends when a player's houses are empty, with remaining seeds going to the opponent

Oware Distinctive Rules

1. Sowing never places seeds in scoring houses
2. Captures trigger when landing in opponent's pit creates exactly 2-3 seeds
3. Multiple adjacent qualifying pits can be captured in one move
4. Players must leave seeds for opponents when possible
5. The game concludes when one player has captured >50% of seeds

Recent Improvements

Version 1.4.1 (August 6, 2024)

• Various bug fixes and optimizations
• Improved gameplay stability