Mancala on your own devices
Mancala is two rows of pits, a store at each end and a lot of counting, and online each player has the whole board on their own screen. The host picks the seeds per pit and the empty-capture rule in the lobby, and both players see the choice before the first move. Sowing, captures and the extra turn for a last seed in your store work as they do in our one-device mancala.
Free for 2 players, each on your own phone, tablet or computer. Share a link or a 6-character code; nobody needs an account or a download.
How to play mancala online with a friend
Mancala is a two-player game, so a room has two seats: the host takes the first and the friend who opens the link takes the second. Anyone else who opens it joins as a watcher. In the lobby the host sets three things, and they show on the friend’s screen too:
- Who goes first, either of your names.
- Seeds per pit, 3, 4, 5 or 6, set to 4 until the host changes it.
- Empty capture, a house rule that starts switched off.
Once the friend’s name is in the second seat, the host taps Start. The options stay fixed while you play, and a rematch keeps them, so you only need to agree on them once per evening.
Sowing on separate screens
Each phone draws the board from your side: your own pits are on the near side and your store is the one closest to you. Watchers see it from the first seat’s side. When it is your turn, only the pits you can play respond to a tap. One tap sows: there is no confirm step in mancala, so pick the pit you mean.
The seeds travel round the board one at a time on both screens, so your friend sees every seed you drop, not just the result. When your last seed lands in your own store, you move again, and your friend’s bar keeps saying it is waiting for you until your chain of extra turns runs out. A long chain can take a while to play out, which is part of the fun of watching it from the other side.
When one row runs empty, the game ends and the final count of both stores appears on both phones. Equal stores make a draw, and the room’s score keeps draws as well as wins.
Tips for mancala online with friends
- Take turns going first. Whoever opens can start with an extra turn, a useful head start. Rematch hands the first move to the other player each time, so play games in pairs.
- Match the seeds to your time. 3 seeds per pit makes a short game that fits a break, and 6 suits a long evening on a call.
- Agree on empty capture out loud. The room has no chat, so say it on a call or in your message thread before the host taps Start: with it on, a last seed in your own empty pit is banked even when the pit across is empty.
- Bring a learner along. Someone new to the game can open the same link and watch a mancala multiplayer game from the first seat’s side, seeing every seed land before trying a game themselves.
The mancala rules explain sowing, captures and how the game ends, and the mancala strategy tutorial covers extra-turn chains and captures. To share one screen, or to play the computer, play mancala on one device. The game itself is ancient, and the history of mancala traces it from early boards in Africa and the Middle East to Kalah.
Rooms are private and close by themselves after the game; the server keeps a room’s names and moves only while it is open. See the privacy policy for the details.
