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Mancala
Your store: 0 · Computer's: 0
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The ancient game of sowing seeds round a board of pits, against the computer at three levels. Free, with no sign-up.
Also try: Reversi · Checkers · Backgammon
How to play Mancala
Mancala is one of the oldest board games in the world. This is the version called Kalah, the one most people know. The board has two rows of six pits with four seeds in each, and a store at each end. Your pits are along the bottom and your store is on the right. The computer's pits are along the top and its store is on the left. Collect more seeds in your store than the computer does to win.
- On your turn, tap one of your pits. All of its seeds are picked up and sown one at a time into the pits that follow, going counterclockwise: to the right along your row, into your store, then to the left along the computer's row.
- You sow into your own store, but you skip the computer's.
- If your last seed lands in your store, you take another turn.
- If your last seed lands in one of your own pits that was empty, and the computer's pit opposite has seeds in it, you capture them. Those seeds and your last seed go into your store.
- The game ends when all six pits on either side are empty. Whoever still has seeds in their pits puts them in their own store. The fuller store wins. There are 48 seeds, so 25 is enough to win.
- The computer's last move stays marked: the pit it sowed from, and the pit where its last seed landed.
Choose how strong the computer is above the board: Easy, Medium or Hard. Undo takes back your last move and the computer's reply, as many times as you like. Hint suggests a good pit.
Tips
- Count the seeds before you sow. A pit with exactly enough seeds to reach your store gives you a free turn. Your rightmost pit needs one seed, the next one two, and so on.
- Take your free turns first, starting with the pit closest to your store, so the later ones still line up.
- Watch for empty pits on your side across from a full pit of the computer's. A small pit that lands there captures them all.
- Keep an eye on the computer's empty pits too. If one sits across from a full pit of yours, it may be about to capture.
Keyboard
Tab to the board, then use the left and right arrow keys to move between your six pits. Press Enter or Space to sow the pit you're on. H shows a hint and Ctrl+Z undoes.
Questions
Which Mancala rules do you use?
Kalah, the version most people learn: six pits a side, four seeds in each, a store at each end, a free turn when your last seed lands in your store, and a capture when it lands in one of your empty pits.
Which way do the seeds go?
Counterclockwise: to the right along your pits at the bottom, into your store on the right, then to the left along the computer's pits at the top. You skip the computer's store.
When does the game end?
When all six pits on one side are empty. The seeds left on the other side go into that player's store, and the fuller store wins.
How strong is the computer?
Easy often picks a pit at random. Medium looks a few moves ahead. Hard looks much further ahead and rarely misses a capture. You can change the level at any time, and Undo takes back a move.