About Mancala Rules: How to Play, Setup and Capture Rules (Printable)
These rules use capture style (Kalah): your turn ends where your last stone lands, unless it lands in your store (extra turn) or in an empty pit on your side opposite stones (capture).
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Want to play instead? Play Mancala online, free in your browser. Mancala (the Kalah version sold in most North American stores) is a 2-player sowing game played on a board of 12 small pits and 2 end stores, with 48 stones. You scoop and sow stones counter-clockwise, earn extra turns and capture your opponent's stones, and whoever has the most stones in their store at the end wins. A game takes about 5 to 15 minutes, and the full printable rules sheet with board diagrams is on this page.
How to play Mancala
- Set up: place the board between you so each player has a row of 6 pits in front of them and their own store (the large end pit) on their right. Put 4 stones in each of the 12 small pits, 48 in all, and leave both stores empty.
- Pick a pit: on your turn, choose one of your own 6 pits that has at least one stone and scoop up every stone in it.
- Sow counter-clockwise: drop one stone into each pit you pass, moving right along your row, into your own store, then along your opponent's row. Skip your opponent's store every time you pass it.
- Extra turn: if your last stone lands in your own store, you go again. There is no limit on how many extra turns you can chain in a row.
- Capture: if your last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side and the pit directly across from it has stones, take that last stone plus every stone in the opposite pit and put them all in your store.
- End of turn: if your last stone lands anywhere else, your turn is over and your opponent plays.
- Game end: the game ends as soon as one player has no stones in any of their 6 pits. The other player sweeps every stone left on their own side into their own store.
- Winning: count the stones in each store. The most stones wins, and equal totals are a draw.
Examples
Strategy tips
- At the start every pit holds 4 stones, so the third pit from your left (4 pits away from your store) drops its last stone exactly into your store for a free extra turn. It is the standard opening move.
- Before each move, count each pit's stones against its distance from your store. A pit holding exactly as many stones as it is pits away from your store earns an extra turn, so play the one closest to your store first so you don't spoil the others.
- Keep an empty pit on your side lined up across from a big opposing pit. A pit with a few stones a short way to its left can then land in it for a large capture.
- Watch your opponent's empty pits. If one sits opposite a heavy pit of yours, move that pit or fill their empty pit before they can capture it.
- Your rightmost pit is your safest bank. Single stones there can go straight into your store at any time.
- Late in the game, stones left on your side go to your store at the sweep, so hoarding stones in your own pits can pay off when your opponent is about to run out.
Example: a capture
Your second pit from the left holds 2 stones and your fourth pit from the left is empty. Your opponent's pit directly across from that empty pit holds 6 stones. You scoop the 2 stones and sow one into your third pit and the last one into the empty fourth pit. Because it landed in an empty pit on your side and the opposite pit has stones, you capture: your 1 stone plus their 6 go into your store, a 7-stone swing in one move.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between capture and avalanche Mancala?
These rules use capture style (Kalah): your turn ends where your last stone lands, unless it lands in your store (extra turn) or in an empty pit on your side opposite stones (capture). Avalanche is a variant some apps and boxes use, where if your last stone lands in a pit that already has stones, you pick them all up and keep sowing until you land in an empty pit or your store. Agree on which style you're playing before you start.
Who goes first in Mancala?
There is no fixed rule: toss a stone, let the oldest or youngest player start, or pick at random, then alternate who starts each game. Going first is an advantage in this 4-stone version, so some players use the pie rule: after the first player's opening move, the second player may choose to swap sides instead of replying.
What happens to the stones left when one side is empty?
The game ends the moment one player has no stones in any of their 6 pits. The other player moves every stone still on their own side into their own store, then both stores are counted. A variant some players use flips this, letting the player who empties their side first sweep the opponent's remaining stones instead.
Should you use 3 or 4 stones per pit?
These rules use 4 stones in each of the 12 pits (48 total), the standard setup for Kalah. Some players start with 3 stones per pit for a shorter, quicker game, which is a handy option for young children, and some use 5 or 6 for a longer one. Whatever you choose, put the same number in every small pit.
Do you put a stone in your opponent's store?
No. You drop a stone in your own store each time you pass it, but you always skip your opponent's store. If you are sowing a big pile that laps the whole board, keep skipping their store on every pass.
Does a capture count if the opposite pit is empty?
Not in standard rules: your last stone simply stays in the empty pit and your turn ends. Under the Empty Capture variant, some players let you move that single stone into your store even when the opposite pit is empty.
Can a capture happen in the middle of a move?
No. Only the very last stone you sow can trigger a capture or an extra turn. Stones dropped into empty pits earlier in the move do nothing special.
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