Mangala

How to play

The Turkish mancala, played for centuries across Anatolia and the wider region. Scoop up all the seeds from one of your own pits and sow them one by one into the pits going counter-clockwise, dropping a seed into your own treasury along the way but always skipping over the AI's.

Rules

  • Tap one of your six pits to scoop up its seeds and sow them one at a time into each following pit, counter-clockwise, skipping the AI's treasury.
  • If your very last seed lands in your own treasury, you get an immediate extra turn.
  • If your last seed lands in an empty or now-even AI pit, you capture every seed in it straight into your own treasury.
  • Play continues until one side's pits are all empty; the other side banks whatever is left on their own row. Most seeds in your treasury wins.

Tips

Look for a pit whose seed count lands your final seed exactly in your own treasury — that's a free extra turn, and stacking several of those in a row is how big leads are built. Otherwise aim for a sow that makes an AI pit land on an even count so you can scoop it.