Setup
Place four stones in each of the twelve small pits — 48 stones total. The two large pits on the ends are "stores". Each player owns the six pits on their side of the board and the store to their right; you sit at your row of six.
The goal
Collect more stones in your store than your opponent collects in theirs. When the game ends, the player with the most stones in their store wins.
Sowing on your turn
Pick up all the stones from any one of your own pits and "sow" them — dropping one stone into each pit, moving counter-clockwise around the board.
- Drop a stone into your own store as you pass it, but skip your opponent’s store.
- If you have enough stones, you can sow all the way around past your own pits again.
Free turns and captures
Two rules make Mancala tactical:
- Free turn: if the last stone you sow lands in your own store, you take another turn immediately.
- Capture: if the last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side, you capture that stone plus all the stones in the pit directly opposite, and put them all in your store.
Ending the game
The game ends as soon as all six pits on one player’s side are empty. The other player then moves all the stones remaining on their side into their own store. Count both stores — most stones wins. A draw is possible if both stores hold the same number.