Arcadópolis
Mancala
Free online Mancala: the seed-sowing game
Free Mancala in your browser, with nothing to download: take the seeds from one of your pits, sow them one by one around the board and collect more in your store than your rival. Play against the computer, on Easy, Normal or Hard, or two players on the same device.
The board has 12 pits, six on each side, and a store at each end; you start with 4 seeds in each pit (or 3, 5 or 6 for shorter or longer games). If your last seed lands in your store, you play again; if it lands in an empty pit on your side, you take whatever is opposite.
It’s a carved walnut board with colored glass seeds, and every seed that drops sounds like a marimba key: every move is a melody. It’s one of the 51 games in the Arcadópolis Games folder.
Free, no ads, nothing to install.
Install Mancala on its own on your home screen
What it has
- 12 pits, 2 stores and 3 to 6 seeds per pit (48 seeds with 4).
- The classic rules: an extra turn when you end in your store and a capture when you end in an empty pit on your side.
- Against the computer on three levels; on Hard it thinks nine moves ahead.
- Two players on the same device, and you choose who starts: you, the computer or at random.
- Every seed that drops plays its marimba note; you can change the sound.
- An unfinished game is saved; six achievements and records in your profile (your biggest win).
How to play
- Open the Games folder, tap Mancala and choose your opponent and how many seeds per pit.
- On your turn, tap one of your pits (the bottom row): its seeds are sown one per pit, counterclockwise.
- Try to end in your store to play again, or in an empty pit on your side to take the seeds opposite.
- When one side is empty, each player keeps what is left. Whoever collects more seeds wins.
The rules, step by step
When sowing, one seed also goes in your store, but your rival’s store is skipped. If a pit has many seeds, the sowing can go all the way around the board. To capture, your last seed must land in a pit on your side that was empty, and the opposite pit must have seeds: you take those and yours. The game ends when all six pits on one side are empty; the other player adds what is left to their store.
Tips to win
Count before you sow: the pit that is as many steps from your store as it has seeds gives you another turn, and sometimes you can chain several. Start with the pits closest to your store, so you don’t open the way for your rival. Watch the empty pits on your side that face a full pit: they’re a capture waiting to happen. And watch your rival’s: if they leave an empty pit facing a full one of yours, move it before they take it.
Common questions
Can I play against the computer?
Yes, on three levels. On Easy it plays almost at random; on Normal it thinks four moves ahead and on Hard nine, so it makes the most of every extra turn and capture.
How many seeds are in each pit?
You start with 4 in each of the 12 pits, 48 in all. You can also choose 3, 5 or 6 seeds per pit.
What happens when one side runs out?
The game ends: the player who still has seeds on their side puts them in their store, and whoever has more wins. It can also be a tie.
Also in Arcadópolis
ParchísThe classic Spanish cross-and-circle board game for 2 to 4 players: against the computer on three levels or together, with captures, blockades and safe squares.
DominoesPartner dominoes with a double-six set, against the computer or online with other people.
Four in a RowDrop pieces into a 7-column frame and get four in a row before the computer or another person.
Arcadópolis has 66 more apps on the same desktop: games, music, a 3D museum and a 3D library.