Mancala: the count-and-capture family

Mancala is not one game but a family of them. Players move seeds or stones through rows of pits, and the aim is usually to finish with more seeds than your opponent. These count-and-capture games have been played across Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and many families keep a version of their own.

The name is often linked to the Arabic verb naqala, "to move", which suits a game built on moving seeds from pit to pit.

Names from many places

The same basic idea goes by many names. Oware is associated with Ghana, Ayo is played in Nigeria, Awalé in Côte d'Ivoire, and Bao is found in East Africa. Each has its own rules and customs, so two players who both say "mancala" may still need to agree on a version before they start.

Kalah is a simpler variant from the 20th century, and many English-speaking players learn it first. The rules below describe a basic Kalah-style game.

One turn, step by step

Each player has a row of pits along their side and a larger store pit at one end of the board. Many sets start with the same number of seeds in every pit, often four.

1. Choose one of your own pits that contains seeds.
2. Pick up all the seeds from that pit.
3. Sow them one at a time, moving counter-clockwise: one seed into each following pit. Your store takes a seed when your sowing reaches it. You skip the opponent's store.
4. Look at where the last seed landed.

• If it landed in your store, you take another turn.
• If it landed in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, you capture. Put the seeds from the opposite pit, plus your last seed, into your store.
• In any other case, your turn ends.

For example, suppose the fourth pit on your side holds three seeds. You pick them up and sow one into the fifth pit, one into the sixth pit and one into your store. The last seed landed in your store, so you take another turn.

The game ends when one side has no seeds left. In most versions, the other player's remaining seeds then go into their own store, and the player with more seeds in their store wins.

How Oware differs

Oware and several other African count-and-capture games differ from Kalah in important ways. Many of them have no store pit on the board. Each player sets captured seeds aside, and the capture rules are often different. If you know Kalah, read the rules again before you play Oware, and agree on how captures are counted.

Strategy for a first game

Look first for moves that finish in your store, because they give you another turn. Then check which of your full pits sit opposite an empty pit on the other side. A sowing that ends in that empty pit captures your seeds, so those pits need watching.

Many new players look only at their own move. Looking one move ahead at the opponent's options is where much of the skill lies, and it is worth practising slowly before you try to play quickly.

Playing on a printed board

You do not need a carved wooden board. Draw two rows of six pits on paper, add a larger store at each end, and use beans, dried lentils, buttons or small coins as seeds. Choose items that are roughly the same size, so every pit looks alike.

A printed board is quick to set up. Paperoom's mancala maker can make a printable version on A4 or US Letter paper, and you can also download it as a PDF. For a clean result, print at 100% scale, turn off the browser's headers and footers, and print one test sheet first.

Take turns, say each seed count aloud, and keep the store totals visible on the table. A few rounds are enough to learn the rhythm. Many players find the first game the slowest, because most of the time goes into checking which captures are possible.