Play Kalaha
Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia. Kalaha is a form of the popular board game Mancala family, and it's probably the game you're thinking about when you say "Mancala." Kalaha is easy to learn and fun to play.
Steps
- The objective of the game is to collect as many playing pieces as possible before one of the players clears their side of all the playing pieces. The row of six cups in front and closest to each player are theirs.
- Start by placing four stones in each small cup. You have 48 stones total, and 12 cups, which means there should be four stones in each cup. Each player starts off with a total of 24 stones or beads.
- Your mancala is the big basin to your right. Also called a "store," it is where captured pieces are placed.
- Choose which player is going to go first. Because there's not really an advantage to going first, flip a coin or choose a person at random.
- Going counter-clockwise, the beginning player takes all four stones in one cup on their side and places one stone each in any four adjacent cups. Players can only grab stones that are on their side.
- Players can put stones in their own Mancala, but not in their opponent's Mancala. If you have enough stones to reach your opponent's Mancala, skip it.
- Take turns picking up stones in any cup and placing them
- If your last stone falls into your Mancala, take another turn.
- If the last stone you drop is in an empty cup on your side, capture that piece along with any pieces in the hole directly opposite. Captured pieces go into your Mancala store.
- When one player's six cups are completely empty, the game ends. The player who still has stones left in their cups captures those stones and puts them in their Mancala. Players compare the number of stones in their Mancala. The player with the most stones wins.
Tips
- The first move you may want to choose is the sixth cup from your mancala to get a start with one playing piece in your own mancala and gaining an extra turn.
Things You'll Need
- A Kalaha-board
- 72 playing pieces
- 2 players (only)
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