How to Play Mancala: Rules, Captures & Strategy

Mancala is one of the oldest game families in the world. Some of the clearest early evidence is mancala boards found at sites of the Aksumite kingdom in Ethiopia and Eritrea, dated to roughly the 6th and 7th centuries AD; older claims are debated. Variants are played across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean. The Western standard is Kalah: 6 pits per side, 1 store per side, 48 stones total. Here’s how to play strategically, and when you need a break, the Chrome Dino game is one click away.

Short answer to how to play mancala: on your turn, scoop every stone out of one of your pits and drop them one by one counterclockwise. Land your last stone in your store for another turn, land it in an empty pit on your side to capture, and finish with the most stones in your store.

Key takeaways

Kalah uses 12 pits, 2 stores and 48 stones; each pit starts with 4.
A pit gives a free turn when its stone count equals its distance from your store.
Landing your last stone in an empty pit on your side captures the stones opposite it.
When one row runs empty, the game ends and the other player banks every stone left on their side.

The board and setup

The board has two rows of six small pits and a large store at each end. You own the row nearest you and the store at your right; your opponent owns the far row and the store at their right, which sits at your left.

Put 4 stones in each of the 12 pits, so 24 stones start on each side. Both stores start empty. Decide who goes first; moving first is generally considered an advantage in Kalah, so alternate between games.

The basic rules

Each player has 6 pits in front of them and 1 store (the larger pit) at their right. Each pit starts with 4 stones; stores start empty.

On your turn: pick up ALL stones from one of YOUR pits. Sow them one at a time, counterclockwise, into subsequent pits (yours and opponent’s). Always sow into your own store; skip opponent’s store.

The game ends when either player’s six pits are all empty. The other player then sweeps every stone left on their own side into their own store. Player with more stones in their store wins.

A turn, step by step

Choose any non-empty pit on your side.
Pick up every stone in it, leaving it empty.
Drop one stone into each following pit, moving counterclockwise: along your row, into your store, then along your opponent’s row.
Skip your opponent’s store if you go all the way around.
Check where the last stone landed: your store (free turn), an empty pit on your side (possible capture), or anywhere else (turn passes).

Special rule 1: Free turn

If your last sown stone lands in YOUR store, you get another turn. Strategic players chain free turns to dominate the game.

Special rule 2: Capture

If your last sown stone lands in an EMPTY pit on YOUR side AND the opponent’s pit directly across has stones, you capture both your stone and all stones from the opponent’s pit. They go to YOUR store.

Captures are huge. A single capture can swing 5-10 stones in your favor.

Simple example: one of your pits holds 1 stone and the next pit toward your store is empty. Sow that 1 stone into the empty pit. If your opponent’s pit opposite holds 6 stones, you bank all 6 plus your own stone: 7 stones in one move.

Rule sets differ on one detail: some versions let you take your single stone even when the opposite pit is empty. In our Mancala, a capture only happens when the opposite pit has stones; otherwise your stone just stays put.

Strategy 1: Setup free turns

Calculate which pit, when sown, ends in your store. Then play it. If you can chain multiple free turns, do.

Count your pits from the store: the pit right next to it is 1 step away, the one after is 2, and so on. A pit gives a free turn when it holds exactly as many stones as its distance. Example: the pit next to your store has 1 stone; sow it, the stone drops into your store, free turn. Then check whether the pit 2 steps away holds exactly 2, and continue.

Worked opening

At the start every pit holds 4 stones, so the pit 4 steps from your store (the third pit from your left) is a free turn on move one. Sow it: one stone goes into each of the next three pits and the fourth lands in your store. You now have 1 stone banked and get to move again.

After that opening the three pits nearest your store hold 5 stones each, so none of them is an exact free turn. Look at what each choice would feed your opponent before you play your second move.

Strategy 2: Loaded pits

A pit with a big pile travels all the way around the board, dropping stones in your store and feeding your own pits on the way back. A pit with exactly 13 stones is special: the last stone lands back in the pit you just emptied, which counts as an empty pit on your side, so it captures whatever sits opposite.

Build up loaded pits strategically. They’re game-changers when finally released.

Strategy 3: Block opponent’s free turns

Each of your opponent’s pits has a calculable ‘free turn distance’ — the number of stones needed to reach their store. Watch opponent pits approach this critical number; play to deny them.

If the opponent pit 3 steps from their store holds exactly 3 stones, they have a free turn waiting. Play to disrupt this — either drop a stone in pit 3 to ruin the count, or play a pit that lands in their pit 3.

Strategy 4: Open pits for capture

If you have an empty pit and the opponent’s matching pit has stones, you can capture if you can land a stone in your empty pit. Plan moves to set up these captures.

Conversely, if YOUR pit is empty and your OPPONENT’S matching pit has stones, they might capture you. Defend by filling your empty pit (sow a stone into it) before they can land.

Strategy 5: Endgame

In the final moves, count stones carefully. Under Kalah rules, when one side runs empty, the stones left on the other side go to the player whose side they are on. So if you are ahead and holding many stones on your side, emptying your opponent’s row can end the game and bank them all; if you are behind, avoid ending the game while your opponent still has a full row.

Read the specific endgame rules carefully — different variants resolve this differently.

A useful habit: with 48 stones in play, a store with 25 or more cannot be caught, because the opponent can finish with at most 23. Once you pass that mark, play safe moves and let the game wind down.

Common beginner mistakes

Ignoring the free turn. Before every move, scan your six pits for an exact count. Missing one is the most common way to give away tempo.
Leaving a big pile opposite an empty pit. Your opponent only needs to drop a last stone into that empty pit to take the lot.

Kalah and other mancala games

“Mancala” names a whole family of sowing games, and Kalah is only one member. The rules on this page are Kalah rules; other traditional games change the board, the captures or the goal.

Game	Board	How you score
Kalah	2 rows of 6 pits, 2 stores, 4 stones per pit	Stones in your store, via free turns and captures
Oware (Abapa)	2 rows of 6 pits, 4 seeds per pit; stores are only for captured seeds	Capture on the opponent’s side when your last seed makes a pit of 2 or 3
Bao	4 rows of 8 pits	A more complex East African game with more intricate sowing and capture rules

Wikipedia’s Mancala article covers the wider family. For more boards in the same spirit, see our list of games like Mancala.

Practice

Play our Mancala with the Kalah variant. The CPU uses minimax search, looking 2, 5 or 8 moves ahead on Easy, Medium and Hard. For deeper strategy, read our guide to mastering Mancala.

Our version also has a 2 Players mode for a friend on the same device, an Undo button that steps back to your last move, and a win counter saved in your browser. Start on Easy to practice free-turn counting. If you enjoy counting-and-planning games, our roundup of the best browser logic games has more.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play mancala for beginners?

Pick up all the stones in one of your pits and drop them one at a time counterclockwise, including into your own store but never your opponent’s. Land the last stone in your store for another turn, or in an empty pit on your side to capture the stones opposite. The player with the most stones in their store at the end wins.

How many stones go in each pit in mancala?

In Kalah, the common Western version, each of the 12 pits starts with 4 stones, for 48 in total. Some rule sets start with 3 or 6 stones per pit for a shorter or longer game.

What happens when one side is empty in mancala?

Under Kalah rules the game ends immediately. The player with stones left on their side moves all of them into their own store, and then both stores are counted.

Is it better to go first in mancala?

In standard Kalah, going first is generally considered an advantage, because you can open with a free turn. Alternate who starts if you play several games.

Can you play mancala online for free?

Yes. Our Mancala runs in your browser with no download or account. Play the CPU on three difficulty levels or pass the device to a friend in 2 Players mode.

How to Play Mancala — Strategy Guide With Free Turns + Captures