Guide
How to Play Mancala
Mancala is a count-and-capture game of order and timing. Sow a pit counter-clockwise, bank stones in your store, and hunt for the free-turn and capture moves that decide the score.
Play MancalaThe objective
Bank more stones than your opponent
Mancala is played on a board of two rows of six pits with a larger store at each end. The row nearest you is yours, and your store sits on your right. There are 48 stones in play, so 25 or more in your store wins the game and 24 apiece is a draw.
Between the first move and the last, the work is choosing which pit to sow so that your final stone lands somewhere useful — ideally your own store, for another turn, or an empty pit that lets you capture across the board.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the board when you want to play; use this guide for the rules, the three opponent levels, and the habits that win more games.
The setup
Twelve pits, four stones each
Every one of the twelve small pits starts with four stones — 48 in total. Both stores start empty. The six pits along the bottom are yours; the six along the top belong to the computer. Your store is the tall well on the right, the computer’s is on the left.
In this version you always move first. Sowing runs counter-clockwise, which from your seat means stones travel left to right along your row, into your store, and then along the opponent’s row.
Controls
Tap a pit, or use the keyboard
Every method plays the same move. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Tap a pit
On your turn, tap or click any of your six pits that still has stones. The playable pits are highlighted, and empty ones do nothing. Sowing animates one stone at a time so you can follow exactly where the last stone lands.
Desktop
Number keys 1–6
Press 1 through 6 to play your pits from left to right without reaching for the mouse. It is the fastest way to run a planned sequence of free turns.
Desktop
Shortcuts
H asks for a hint, U takes back your last move, N starts a new game, and M mutes the sound. Every on-screen button also has a visible focus ring for keyboard navigation.
The loop
Four things you do every turn
Reading the board, then choosing a pit with those four ideas in mind, is the whole game.
- 1
Read the board
Two rows of six pits sit between two larger stores. Each pit starts with four stones — 48 in all. The row nearest you is yours, and your store is the one on your right. The goal is simple: finish with more stones in your store than your opponent has in theirs.
- 2
Sow counter-clockwise
On your turn, pick one of your own pits and scoop up all of its stones. Drop them one at a time into each pit that follows, moving counter-clockwise. You drop a stone in your own store as you pass it, but you always skip your opponent’s store.
- 3
Earn free turns and captures
If your last stone lands in your own store, you immediately take another turn. If your last stone lands in an empty pit on your side, you capture it plus every stone in the pit directly across from it, and all of them go to your store.
- 4
End the game
The game ends the moment either player has no stones left in their six pits. The other player then sweeps all the stones remaining on their own side into their store. Count both stores — the larger one wins, and 24 apiece is a tie.
Rules & scoring
Every rule that decides a move
The objective
Bank more stones in your store than your opponent banks in theirs. There are 48 stones, so 25 or more wins outright and 24 each is a draw.
Sowing
Take every stone from one of your own non-empty pits and drop them one per pit, counter-clockwise. Your store is included in that path; your opponent’s store is skipped. A pit with enough stones can wrap all the way around the board.
The free-turn rule
If the last stone you sow lands in your own store, you move again right away. There is no limit on how many free turns you can string together in one go.
The capture rule
If the last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side, and the pit directly opposite holds stones, you capture that lone stone and the entire opposite pit into your store. Landing in an empty pit whose opposite is also empty captures nothing.
Ending and the sweep
As soon as one player’s six pits are all empty, play stops. The other player moves every stone still sitting on their own side into their store, and then the stores are compared.
Opponent levels
Relaxed, Classic, or Sharp
The only setting in Mancala here is how deeply the computer thinks. Pick it on the start screen; your stats are pooled across all three.
- 01 · A gentle opponent
Relaxed
The computer looks only a move or two ahead and sometimes plays at random. It still takes obvious free turns and captures, which makes it a good sparring partner while you learn how sowing carries around the board.
- 02 · A solid game
Classic
The opponent searches several moves ahead, chains its own free turns, and sets up captures against you. Most players find this the right everyday challenge — winnable, but only with a plan.
- 03 · A hard opponent
Sharp
A deep search that punishes loose moves, protects its own vulnerable pits, and reads your captures before you make them. Beating Sharp consistently means thinking a full exchange ahead.
Common mistakes
Why winnable games slip away
Emptying your reserve pit too early
The big pile near the left of your row is a defensive asset — it cannot be captured and it can swing the endgame. Spending it on a small early gain usually helps your opponent more than you.
Ignoring free-turn chains
Beginners take the first capture they see. Strong players first play every move that lands in the store, because a chain of free turns can reset the whole board in your favour before the opponent moves.
Leaving a loaded pit opposite an empty one
If your seven-stone pit sits across from an empty opponent pit, a single sown stone can hand all seven to them. Move some of those stones or fill the danger square yourself.
Not reading the end of the game
When one side is nearly empty, the sweep rule decides the score. Failing to count whether you want to be the one who runs out of moves can turn a winning position into a loss.
- Your rightmost pit is worth the most: the pit next to your store with exactly one stone always scores a free turn.
- Plan free turns in sequence. Playing a pit that lands in your store, then another that does the same, lets you make several moves before your opponent replies.
- Set up captures by leaving one of your pits empty when its opposite pit is full, then dropping a single stone into it.
- Watch your opponent’s last pit. If they can reach an empty pit of theirs that faces a loaded pit of yours, you are about to be captured — break it up first.
- Hoarding is a strategy. A pit with many stones is safe from capture and can be unloaded late for a big swing.
- Late in the game, count. Whichever side empties first hands the rest to the other player, so sometimes you want to run out first and sometimes you do not.
- Use undo to test a line. If a sowing does not open a free turn or a capture, take it back and try a different pit.
Where you can play
Same game on phone and desktop
mancalagame.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Click a pit to sow, or use the number keys 1–6 and the H, U, N, and M shortcuts.
Phones and tablets
The layout is touch-first. Tap one of your pits to sow; the board and both stores stay on one screen, and starting a new game is instant with no page reload.
Progress on this device
Games played, wins, losses, draws, your current and longest win streak, and your best winning margin live in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the Mancala FAQ or jump in and play.
Play Mancala free