Mancala is a family of sowing games played with pits and seeds, and two common rule sets differ: Kalah uses a store at each end and a seed-capture rule, while oware has no stores, captures pits holding two or three seeds, and is won by taking 25 of the 48 seeds. Agree the rule set before the first game. Use pebbles or edible seeds you know, never unidentified seeds.
Sowing games on a board of 12 pits: the shared mechanism, the two rule sets in common use, and a worked first move.
One Mechanism, Many Rule Sets
Mancala games are played in Africa and Asia and take many forms. The core mechanism is sowing: pick up all the seeds in one pit and drop them one by one into the following pits. Games differ in where sowing goes, how seeds are captured and how the winner is decided.
The board. Two rows of 6 pits facing each other, 12 pits in all. Scoop pits in earth or sand, carve them in wood, or use cups. With 4 seeds in each pit the game uses 12 × 4 = 48 seeds. Add a larger pit (a store) at each end for Kalah.
The parent article describes Kalah: each player owns the row nearest them and the store on their right; sow counterclockwise; a last seed in your own store earns another turn; a last seed in an empty pit on your side captures that seed plus the seeds in the opposite pit; the game ends when one side is empty. Kalah is a modern commercial form of the game as I recall (an American version of the early twentieth century; not verified), so it is not the traditional African game even though it is the one many people know. The parent article’s wording leaves out what happens to the seeds left on the other side when one row is emptied; in Kalah they go to the owner of that side’s store, and then the larger store wins.
Oware (Traditional Rules, Recalled)
I give the main points of the traditional West African game oware from memory; verify before treating them as fixed.
- Board: 12 pits, no stores, 4 seeds in each pit, 48 in all.
- Each player owns the 6 pits on their side. Sow counterclockwise, one seed per pit, skipping the starting pit if you go round.
- Capture: if your last seed makes a pit on your opponent’s side hold exactly two or three seeds, you capture them, and you also capture the pits just before it if they too hold two or three.
- Win: the first player to hold more than half the seeds, which is 25 of 48 (48 ÷ 2 = 24, so 25 is the first majority), wins.
- There are special rules about moves that capture all the opponent’s seeds, and about feeding an opponent with no seeds. These vary, so agree them first.
Worked Example: Which Opening Earns A Free Turn In Kalah
Number your six pits 1 to 6 in the direction of sowing, so pit 6 is next to your store, which is position 7. A pit k ends in the store when it holds 7 − k seeds, because the sowing then runs exactly from pit k + 1 through to position 7. At the start every pit holds 4 seeds, so the pit with 7 − k = 4, which is k = 3, ends in the store. Opening with pit 3 puts one seed in each of pits 4, 5 and 6 and the last in the store, and you move again. Check: pit 3 plus 4 seeds reaches position 7, and no other starting pit does (pit 4 would need 3 seeds, pit 2 would need 5).
What You Need
- 12 pits and optionally 2 stores
- 48 seeds or pebbles, all alike
- A decision on the rule set
Method: Teaching The Game
Step 1: Play with 4 seeds in each pit to show the sowing.
Step 2: Teach capture using the rule set you choose.
Step 3: Count seeds at the end and agree who wins.
Common Mistakes
- Mixing rule sets mid-game. Agree the rules first.
- Forgetting the direction. Use counterclockwise throughout.
- Counting errors. Count aloud as you sow.
Safety
Poisonous seeds and choking
Do not use unidentified wild seeds as game pieces. Castor beans and the red-and-black seeds of rosary pea are poisonous if chewed, and both are attractive to children. Use pebbles or beans you know are edible. Small seeds are a choking hazard for young children. See Shakers & Rattles. Also avoid using seed you need for planting.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Draughts — a jumping game
- Combine with: Board & Strategy Games — comparing the games