About Mancala Online
Mancala is one of the oldest families of board games. Versions of it have been played for centuries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and they all share one idea: players pick up seeds from a pit and sow them one at a time into the pits that follow. This page plays Kalah, the best-known modern variant. It is a free two-player game against the computer that runs in your browser, with no download and no account.
Each side has six small pits and one large store. Your store is on the right. The game starts with four seeds in every pit, or six if you choose it on the start screen. The aim is simple: finish with more seeds in your store than the bot.
How to play
- Sow: tap one of your pits. Its seeds are dropped one by one into the next pits, moving counter-clockwise. Your own store gets a seed as you pass it, but the bot’s store is always skipped.
- Extra turn: if your last seed lands in your store, you move again.
- Capture: if your last seed lands in an empty pit on your side, you take that seed and all the seeds in the pit opposite into your store. The opposite pit has to contain seeds for the capture to happen.
- End of game: when one side has no seeds left in its six pits, the other side moves its remaining seeds into its own store. The bigger store wins, and equal stores are a draw.
Tips to beat the bot
- Count to your store. The pit next to your store needs one seed to finish there, the pit before it needs two, and so on. Pits with exactly the right number are your extra-turn chances.
- Hunt captures. A big pit opposite an empty pit is a target. Before you move, check whether the bot can land its last seed in its own empty pit across from it.
- Use the preview. Hover a pit with a mouse, or press and hold it on a phone, to see where the last seed will land before you commit.
- Save seeds for the end. When one side runs dry, the other side keeps its remaining seeds. Holding a few seeds on your side late in the game can decide a close match.
Basic strategy
Look for chains of extra turns: a move that ends in your store and leaves another good move behind it. Avoid emptying the pits that the bot can capture from. Bigger pits are not automatically better, because a large pit gives the opponent more to take. On Easy the bot makes mistakes, and on Hard and Insane it looks several moves ahead, so greedy one-move plays usually lose there.
FAQ
Is Mancala Online free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no download, no sign-up and no payment.
Which rules does it use?
Kalah: six pits per side, one store each, sowing counter-clockwise, extra turns when the last seed lands in your store, and captures from an empty pit on your side.
How many seeds should I start with?
Four seeds per pit is the usual starting point. Six makes longer, slower games with more captures. You can pick either on the start screen.
Who moves first?
You can choose to start yourself, let the bot start, or pick at random.
How hard is the Insane bot?
Insane searches the most moves ahead of the four levels, within a short time limit for each move, so it is the hardest to beat. Win on Hard first, then try Insane.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. On a phone held upright the board stacks vertically so each pit stays large enough to tap.