How to Play Kalah Mancala

THE PLAYBOOK · 373GS

How to play Kalah Mancala

Try Kalah Mancala at your own pace and keep its objective in view. When either row of six pits is empty, remaining seeds go to their owner’s store. The larger store wins. Use the example below to understand a decision. Read the objective before making your first input. Look at what changes after your first action.

Try a deliberate move

After a move, check what changed. Decide which rule explains the new state before acting again. Use the example to check your reasoning.

Your goal

When either row of six pits is empty, remaining seeds go to their owner’s store. The larger store wins. The feedback beside the game helps you follow the round. Notice how the game responds to your input.

Step by step

1. Player 1 uses the bottom six pits; Player 2 uses the top six.
2. Choose a non-empty pit on your side and sow its seeds one at a time.
3. Include your own store but skip the opponent’s store. Ending in your store grants another turn.
4. Ending in an empty pit on your own side captures that seed and the opposite seeds, when the opposite pit is non-empty.

Controls

Use the on-screen controls with a mouse or touch. On a smaller screen, keep the active part of the board within view. Make sure you are interacting with the game rather than the surrounding page.

A useful example

If your last seed reaches your store, you move again. If your row becomes empty, both stores are settled immediately. Your next round may have a different position, so inspect it before acting. Read the matching step again.

Watch out for this

The stores are scoring areas, not pits you can choose. These are Kalah rules, not every Mancala variant. Read the feedback to see why an action did not have the expected result. When a decision goes wrong, compare it with the common mistake described below. Start again only when you intend to leave the current round.

Common questions