Setup, sowing, free turns, captures and the end-of-game sweep — the complete rules on one page, with the six strategy ideas that decide most games.
| Board | Twelve small pits — six per player — plus a large store at each end. Your store is on your right. |
| Start | Four seeds in every small pit. Stores start empty. |
| Goal | Finish with more seeds in your store than your opponent. |
| Sow | Pick one of your six pits, lift out all its seeds, and drop them one at a time into following pits, moving counter-clockwise — including your own store, but skipping your opponent's. |
| Free turn | If your last seed lands in your own store, you go again. Chaining these is the engine of a strong game. |
| Capture | If your last seed lands in an empty pit on your own side, take that seed plus every seed in the pit directly opposite — all of it goes to your store. |
| Game end | The round ends the moment one side's six pits are all empty. The other player sweeps their remaining seeds into their store. Most seeds wins. |
Mancala is not one game — it is a family played across Africa, the Middle East and Asia for well over a thousand years. The version almost everyone means in English, and the one on this card, is Kalah: two rows of six pits, a store at each end, four seeds per pit at the start.
On your turn, choose one of your six pits, lift out every seed in it, and drop them one at a time into each following pit, moving counter-clockwise. You drop a seed into your own store as you pass it, but you always skip your opponent's store.
Free turn. If your final seed lands exactly in your own store, you take another turn immediately. Chaining free turns is the engine of strong play, and a well-set-up board can yield three or four in a row.
Capture. If your final seed lands in an empty pit on your own side, you capture it along with every seed in the pit directly opposite, and all of it goes to your store. A single seed dropped into the right empty pit can take a dozen at once.
The moment either player's six pits are all empty, the round is over. The other player sweeps every remaining seed on their side into their own store. Most seeds wins — 25 or more out of 48 is a win, and 24 each is a draw.
That sweep rule cuts both ways, and it is worth counting before you commit. Emptying your side quickly can force a favourable ending, or hand your opponent a windfall.
Look for free turns first, every turn — they are the cheapest advantage available. Keep an empty pit on your side lined up opposite a loaded pit, then land a single seed in it. Before moving, check what you are leaving exposed opposite your opponent's empty pits. Seeds nearer your store need fewer steps to bank and generate more free-turn chances, so loading your right side compounds.
How many seeds does each pit start with? Four, in all twelve small pits — 48 seeds total.
Do you put seeds in your opponent's store? No. You skip it and drop into your own only.
Can you capture from your opponent's side? Only indirectly — your last seed must land in an empty pit on your side, and you then take the seeds opposite it.