Mancala
Pick a pit and sow its seeds around the board, one per pit. Capture, earn extra turns and finish with more seeds in your store than the computer.
How to play Mancala
How to play
Tap one of your six pits on the bottom row. Its seeds are sown one by one, counter-clockwise, into the next pits and your store on the right. The computer's store is skipped. With Two players, a friend takes the top row and you pass the device after each turn.
Extra turns and captures
If your last seed lands in your store, you go again. If it lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, you capture both and move them to your store.
End of the game
The game ends when one side has no seeds left in its pits. Each player then adds the seeds left on their own side to their store. Most seeds wins.
Tips
Look for pits whose seed count exactly reaches your store, and play those first, starting with the one closest to the store. Keep an eye on empty pits the computer could use to capture your seeds.
Questions
Which mancala rules does Puzzle Desk use?
Kalah rules: six pits a side and four seeds per pit by default, extra turns when your last seed reaches your store, and captures from the opposite pit. You can choose 3 to 6 seeds per pit before the first move.
Do I capture if the opposite pit is empty?
No. A capture only happens when your last seed lands in an empty pit on your own side and the pit directly opposite has at least one seed.
How strong is the computer?
Easy looks two moves ahead and sometimes plays a random pit. Medium looks five moves ahead. Hard searches as deep as it can in a fraction of a second and plays very well.
What happens when one side runs out of seeds?
The game ends straight away. The other player moves all the seeds left on their side into their own store, and the stores are compared.
Who moves first?
You always move first. With four seeds per pit, a good first move is the third pit from the left, whose last seed lands in your store for an extra turn.