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🟤 Mangala

Board • Traditional • Strategy • 1 plays

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About the game

Mangala is a traditional Turkish strategy game with roots stretching from Central Asia to Anatolia, played for centuries in village squares, coffee houses and family homes. It belongs to the mancala family of "count and capture" games: the board has 12 small pits in two rows of six, two large stores and 48 stones. Sow your stones cleverly, capture your opponent's stones and fill your own store. The rules take a minute to learn, yet the strategy runs surprisingly deep. Play Mangala online for free against the computer at three difficulty levels, with nothing to download.

How to play

• Each player has 6 pits and one store. At the start, every pit holds 4 stones.
• On your turn, pick up all the stones from one of your pits. Drop the first stone back into that same pit and sow the rest one by one, counter-clockwise. If the pit has only one stone, it moves to the next pit.
• If your last stone lands in your own store, you play again.
• If your last stone lands in an opponent's pit and makes the count there even, you capture all the stones in that pit.
• If your last stone lands in one of your empty pits and the pit opposite has stones, that stone and the opposite stones all go to your store.
• The first player to empty their pits also collects the stones left in the opponent's pits. The player with the most stones in their store wins.

Screenshots

Mangala tips and strategy

• Look for extra turns: A pit whose stone count matches its distance to your store drops the last stone into the store and gives you a second move. Play those first.
• Watch for odd pits on the other side: If your last stone lands in an opponent's pit holding an odd number of stones, it becomes even and you take them all.
• Use empty pits as traps: An empty pit of yours facing a full pit can turn into a big haul with the right move.
• Think about emptying your side early: Whoever runs out of stones first takes everything left on the opponent's side, which is huge when their pits are crowded.

Frequently asked questions

Who goes first? You always make the first move.
Which way are the stones sown? Counter-clockwise: from your pits towards your store, then on into the opponent's pits. The opponent's store is skipped.
I made a bad move. Can I take it back? Watch a short ad to undo your last move, up to 3 times per game.
How do I earn points? A win is worth 10, 20 or 35 points depending on the difficulty, and a draw is worth 3.
Is Mangala the same as Mancala? Mangala is the Turkish member of the mancala family, with its own capture rules: even-count captures and empty-pit captures.

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