How to play Mancala: rules, setup and tips to win

What is Mancala?

Mancala is a family of "count and capture" board games that has been played for centuries. The version most families know, and the one you can play on PlayTrova, is Kalah: two rows of six pits, a store at each end and one simple goal. Collect more seeds in your store than your opponent.

There is no luck involved: every move is a little counting puzzle, great for kids practising numbers and for adults who like to plan ahead. You can try every idea in this guide for free in Mancala.

Mancala setup: the board and the seeds

The board has two rows of six small pits, plus a big pit at each end called a store. The bottom row is yours, and your store is the one on your right. Your opponent owns the top row and the store on the left.

• Classic game: 4 seeds in each of the 12 pits, 48 seeds in all. This is standard Kalah.
• Quick game: 3 seeds in each pit, 36 in all. Games are shorter, which suits younger players.
• Both stores start empty. Seeds that reach a store stay there for the rest of the game.

In this guide we number your pits 1 to 6 from left to right, so pit 6 is the one right next to your store.

Mancala rules: how a turn works

1. Pick one of your pits that has seeds in it (on PlayTrova, just tap it) and scoop up all of its seeds.
2. Sow them one at a time into the following pits, going counter-clockwise: along your row towards your store, into your store, then along your opponent's row.
3. Skip your opponent's store. If you have lots of seeds, keep going round the board and back onto your own side.
4. Look at where your last seed landed. That decides what happens next.

There are three possibilities:

• In your own store: you get a free turn. Go again!
• In an empty pit on your side: if the pit directly across has seeds, you capture them. Those seeds plus your last seed all go into your store. If the pit across is empty, nothing is captured.
• Anywhere else: your turn is over.

How a Mancala game ends and who wins

The game ends the moment either side runs out of seeds, no matter whose turn it was. Each player then moves every seed still left in their own row into their own store. The player with the most seeds in their store wins, and equal stores are a draw.

So if your side runs dry, your opponent keeps every seed still on their side. Before you play your last pit, add it up: is your store bigger than theirs plus everything left in their row?

There is also a handy finishing line. The Classic game has 48 seeds, so once you have 25 in your store you have won, because your opponent can never catch up. In the Quick game the magic number is 19.

Mancala strategy: chain your free turns

Free turns are the easiest way to pull ahead, because you score a seed and still get to move. A pit gives you a free turn when its number of seeds matches its distance from your store: pit 6 needs 1 seed, pit 5 needs 2, pit 4 needs 3, pit 3 needs 4, pit 2 needs 5 and pit 1 needs 6.

That gives you a free turn on move one. At the start of a Classic game every pit holds 4 seeds, and pit 3 is exactly 4 steps from your store. Play it and the seeds land in pits 4, 5 and 6 and then your store. Free turn! (In the Quick game, pit 4 with its 3 seeds does the same job.)

When several pits line up, the order matters: play the pit nearest your store first. Say pit 6 has 1 seed and pit 5 has 2:

• Right order: pit 6 drops its seed in your store (free turn). Pit 5 sows into pit 6 and your store (free turn). Now pit 6 holds 1 seed again, so play it for a third free turn, and you still get to move.
• Wrong order: pit 5 first earns one free turn, but now pit 6 holds 2 seeds. One goes in your store, the other spills onto your opponent's side, and your turn ends.

Same position: 3 seeds and another move, instead of 2 seeds and nothing. PlayTrova's daily Chain challenge trains exactly this skill: five positions, one turn each, as many seeds as you can get.

Mancala captures: how to attack and defend

Captures cause the biggest swings in Mancala. To set one up, look for an empty pit on your side with a nice pile of seeds across from it, then find one of your pits whose last seed lands there.

For example, say your pit 2 is empty, your pit 1 holds a single seed, and your opponent's pit across from pit 2 holds 6 seeds. Play pit 1: the seed drops into the empty pit 2 and you capture 6 + 1 = 7 seeds in one move.

Watch big piles too. A pit with exactly 13 seeds goes all the way round the board (skipping your opponent's store) and drops its last seed back into its own pit, which is now empty. The lap also drops a seed into the pit across, so the capture always works.

Defending is the other half of the game. Before each move, look at your opponent's empty pits. If one sits across from a big pile of yours and one of their pits can reach it, either move your pile or sow a seed into their empty pit so it is no longer empty.

Common Mancala mistakes

• Playing the free-turn pit farthest from your store first and breaking the chain.
• Leaving a big pile across from one of your opponent's empty pits.
• Forgetting to skip your opponent's store when counting a long sowing.
• Emptying your own side while you are behind. The game ends and your opponent keeps everything left in their row.
• Pouring seeds onto your opponent's side for no reason: they may get to keep them at the end.

Play Mancala online: next steps

On PlayTrova you can take on four computer characters, taking turns to go first. Rookie Robo is a friendly first opponent, Clever Cat loves free turns, Sly Fox pounces on empty pits and Grandmaster Owl counts every seed. Against the computer you also get an Undo button and three hints per game.

To play a person, share one device, or choose vs Friend and send an invite link. No account is needed. You'll find more ideas in two-player games and online games with friends.

Like chaining free turns? In Dots & Boxes, closing a box earns you another turn too; our Dots and Boxes strategy guide explains the chains. For another deep board game, try Reversi with our Reversi strategy guide.

Frequently asked questions