MANCALA BOARD GAME RULES

Mancala is a game with ancient heritage from Eritrea and Ethiopia, dating back as far as the 6th and 7th century.  “Mancala” is derived from the Arabic word, “Naqala”, which means to move. 

 

Set up:

The board should be placed lengthwise between two players.  Each player has 6 pockets directly in front of them, and a store to their right.  Fill each pocket with 4 stones.  For a shorter game length, fill each pocket with 3 stones.  The stores should be empty.

 

Objective:

The player who gets the most stones in their store wins.

 

Gameplay:

One player starts the game by picking any pocket from their side, removing all stones, and placing one at a time into the next pocket, including their own store, going counterclockwise.  If play goes onto the opponent’s side of the board, stones are not placed in the opponent’s store, only their pockets.  If a player lands in their store, they get another turn.  If a player lands in an empty pocket on their side, they get to take that stone PLUS the opponent’s stones directly across from the pocket and put the stones directly in their store.  When all 6 pockets are empty on one side, play ends.  Each player counts their stones in their store and the player who has the most stones in their store wins.