# Mancala > The classic seed-sowing board game: earn extra turns, capture seeds and fill your store. Play Mancala online for free against an easy, medium or hard computer, or with a friend on one device. Classic Kalah rules, no download needed. - Play: https://mogame.app/en/games/mancala/ - Genre: Board, Strategy - Price: free, no ads, no sign-up, no download - Platforms: desktop, mobile (web browser) - Controls: mouse, keyboard, touch - Online leaderboard: yes - Released: 2026-10-25 - Last updated: 2026-10-25 ## How to play Mancala is played on a board with two rows of six pits and a store for each player. Every pit starts with four seeds. On your turn, pick one of your own pits that has seeds in it: all its seeds are sown one by one into the following pits, counter-clockwise, including your own store but skipping your opponent's store. If your last seed lands in your store, you take another turn. If your last seed lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit directly opposite holds seeds, you capture them: both your seed and the opponent's seeds go into your store. The game ends as soon as one side has no seeds left; the other player then moves all the seeds left on their side into their own store. Whoever has more seeds in their store wins, and a tie is possible. In this game your pits are the left column, and you sow downwards towards your store at the bottom. Against the computer, your winning margin is your score for that difficulty. ## Controls Tap or click one of your highlighted pits to sow its seeds. Tap the board during a move to skip the animation. Keyboard: arrow keys or 1–6 pick a pit, Enter or Space sows. Use New game to switch between the computer and two players on one device. ## Tips - Open with the pit that ends exactly in your store: its extra turn lets you move again right away. - Pits close to your store are your best source of extra turns, so play them often to keep them small. - Watch the empty pits on your side: a single seed dropped into one can capture a big pile opposite. - Before each move, check which of your full pits your opponent could capture and defend or empty them. - Building up one large pit can pay off later: a pit with 13 seeds goes all the way round and lands back in its own empty pit for a capture. - Near the end, count the seeds: if your opponent's side is almost empty, keep yours full so the leftovers count for you. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which Mancala rules does this game use? It uses Kalah, the most popular Mancala variant in Europe and America: 6 pits per side, 4 seeds per pit, sowing counter-clockwise into your own store but not your opponent's, extra turns, captures from an empty pit, and remaining seeds go to the player on whose side they are when the game ends. ### How do I get an extra turn? If the last seed you sow lands in your own store, you move again. A pit that holds exactly as many seeds as it is away from your store always earns one, and the hovered or selected pit shows where its last seed will land. ### How does capturing work? When your last seed lands in an empty pit on your own side and the opponent's pit opposite it has seeds, you capture: those seeds and your last seed all go into your store. If the opposite pit is empty, nothing is captured. ### What is a good Mancala strategy? Chain extra turns early, keep your pits near the store small so they can score again, leave empty pits ready for captures, and don't leave a big pile opposite one of your opponent's empty pits. Towards the end, keeping seeds on your side protects them. ### How strong is the computer? Easy plays loosely and often picks random moves. Medium looks a few moves ahead. Hard searches deeply with alpha-beta minimax and rarely misses an extra turn or a capture. ### Can two people play on one device? Yes. Choose 2 players in the menu and take turns on the same phone, tablet or computer. Lay the phone flat between you: the top player's numbers face them. Two-player games don't count toward the leaderboard. ### How does the leaderboard work? When you beat the computer, your score is how many seeds you won by, with a separate leaderboard for each difficulty. Your best margin per difficulty and your current game are saved in your browser.