How to Play Mancala: Rules for Beginners
To play Mancala, take all the stones from one of the six pits on your side and drop them one at a time into the following pits, counter-clockwise, including your own store but never your opponent's. If the last stone lands in your store, you go again; if it lands in an empty pit on your side, you capture it and the stones opposite. When one side runs out of stones the game ends, and whoever has the most stones in their store wins.
What you need and how to set up
Mancala is the name of a whole family of "sowing" games played across Africa, the Middle East and Asia for centuries. The version most people in the United States and Europe learn is Kalah: a board with two rows of six pits and a large store (also called a mancala or kalah) at each end, plus 48 stones. It became popular in the US in the middle of the 20th century, when William Julius Champion Jr. began making and selling Kalah sets.
- Sit facing each other with the board between you, long side towards you.
- The six pits nearest to you are yours. Your store is the big pit at your right-hand end.
- Put four stones in each of the twelve pits. Both stores start empty.
- Decide who goes first. (Against Hop on GameLake, you always move first.)
How a turn works: sowing
On your turn you choose one of your own pits that has stones in it and pick up every stone in it. Then you sow them: drop one stone into each pit that follows, moving to the right along your row, into your store, and on along your opponent's row from right to left. That's counter-clockwise around the board.
- Pick up all the stones from one of your pits. You can't choose a pit on your opponent's side, and you can't skip a stone.
- Drop one stone in each pit in turn, starting with the very next pit.
- Drop a stone in your own store when you pass it.
- Skip your opponent's store. If you have enough stones to go all the way round, you carry on into your own row again.
Counting trick: a pit with as many stones as it has steps to your store ends exactly in the store. The pit next to your store needs 1 stone, the one before it 2, and the pit furthest away 6.
Rule 1: land in your store and go again
If the last stone you sow lands in your own store, you take another turn straight away. There's no limit: if the next move also ends in your store, you go again and again. Chaining these free turns is the most important skill in the game.
Rule 2: land in your empty pit and capture
If the last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side, and the pit directly opposite it has stones, you capture: take the stones from the opposite pit plus your own last stone and put them all in your store. Then your turn ends.
Three things do not capture: landing in an empty pit on your opponent's side, landing in your empty pit when the pit opposite is also empty, and landing in a pit of yours that already had stones. In each case the stone just stays where it fell and the turn passes.
A pit that gets sown all the way round can capture too. With 13 stones in a pit you go once round the board (12 pits and your store, skipping your opponent's store) and the last stone drops back into the pit you started from, which you just emptied.
How the game ends and who wins
The game ends as soon as all six pits on one side are empty. The other player then moves every stone still on their side into their own store. Count the stores: the player with more stones wins. There are 48 stones in all, so a 24–24 tie is possible, and anyone who reaches 25 in their store has already won.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Last stone lands in your store | You take another turn |
| Last stone lands in your empty pit, opposite pit has stones | Capture both into your store; turn ends |
| Last stone lands anywhere else | Turn passes to your opponent |
| Sowing passes your opponent's store | Skip it |
| One row is completely empty | Game over; stones left on the other row go to their owner |
| More than 24 stones in your store | You can't lose |
Common rule mix-ups
- Do you put a stone in your opponent's store? No. Only your own store gets stones when you sow.
- Can you capture from your opponent's empty pit? No. Only empty pits on your own side capture.
- Does the starting pit get a stone when you go all the way round? Yes: with 13 or more stones you keep going and drop into it too.
- Who gets the leftovers at the end? In Kalah, each player keeps the stones on their own side. Some house rules give them to the player who emptied their row; GameLake follows the standard Kalah rule.
- Is it the same as Oware or Mangala? They're cousins with different rules. Oware (Awalé) has no stores on the board and captures pits of 2 or 3, and traditional Turkish Mangala also captures by making an opponent's pit even. The rules on this page are Kalah's.
Practise against Hop
The quickest way to learn is to play a few games. In Mancala on GameLake you can play Hop the frog on Easy, Medium or Hard, pass the phone to a friend in 2-player mode, or play someone online. Stones drop one by one so you can follow every move, the counts sit on each pit, and Teach me lights up a good pit and tells you why, whether it's an extra turn, a capture or a pile to protect.
Once the rules feel natural, read How to Win at Mancala for the moves strong players look for, then try the Daily puzzle: an endgame position where you have to beat Hop's perfect play.
Frequently asked questions
How many stones go in each pit in Mancala?
Four stones in each of the 12 small pits, 48 in all. The two stores start empty. Some sets play with 3 or 6 per pit for a shorter or longer game, but 4 is standard.
Which way do you move in Mancala?
Counter-clockwise: from the pit you pick, to the right along your own row, into your store at the right-hand end, then along your opponent's row from right to left.
Do you get another turn if you land in your store?
Yes. If your last stone lands in your own store you take another turn, as many times in a row as you can manage it.
What happens if your last stone lands in an empty pit?
If it's your own pit and the pit opposite has stones, you capture those stones and your own last stone into your store. Otherwise nothing happens and your turn ends.
How does Mancala end?
When all six pits on one side are empty. Each player adds the stones left on their own side to their store, and the bigger store wins.
Who goes first in Mancala, and does it matter?
Players usually toss a coin or take turns. Going first is an advantage: computer analysis of the standard 6-pit, 4-stone game shows the first player can force a win with perfect play.