Want to play Mancala online 2 player with a friend? Mancala on My MP Games is the classic count-and-capture board game played with the popular Kalah rules. Each side has six pits with four seeds, plus a big store at the end. Scoop up a pit, sow the seeds one by one around the board, and try to finish with more seeds in your store than your rival. Play a friend with a room code, share one phone or laptop, or practise against the computer at three levels. It is free and runs in the browser on desktop, tablet and mobile, with no download and no sign-up.
How to Play Mancala Online
- Pick a mode. Press Create room to host a friend, Join room if you have a code, Local vs to share one device, or Play vs Computer for an instant game.
- Your side is the bottom row. Your store is the big pit on the right. Your rival's row is on top and their store is on the left.
- Tap a pit. On your turn, tap one of your pits that has seeds. Pits you can play glow.
- Watch the sowing. The seeds are dropped one at a time counter-clockwise: along your row, into your store, then along your rival's row. You skip your rival's store.
- Finish with the most seeds. When one side runs out of seeds, the game ends and the bigger store wins.
Mancala Rules (Kalah)
Setup
The board has two rows of six pits and two stores. Every pit starts with four seeds, 48 seeds in total, and both stores start empty. The first player moves from the bottom row.
Sowing
Pick up every seed in one of your pits and drop one into each following pit counter-clockwise. Your own store gets a seed when you pass it; your rival's store never does.
Free turn
If the last seed lands in your own store, you move again straight away. Chaining two or three free turns is the strongest start in the game.
Capture
If the last seed lands in one of your own pits that was empty, and the pit directly opposite has seeds, you capture them. That seed and every seed opposite go into your store.
End of the game
As soon as all six pits on one side are empty, each player moves the seeds left on their own side into their own store. The player with more seeds wins. If both stores hold 24, it is a draw.
Game Modes: Online, Local and vs Computer
Online with a friend (room code)
Press Create room to get a five-character code. Send the code or invite link to your friend, approve them when they join, press Ready and start. Each of you sees your own row at the bottom, and there is room chat while you play.
Local vs on one device
Two players share one screen and take turns. The name of the player to move is highlighted and only their pits can be tapped, so it works well on a tablet between two people.
Single player vs Computer
Choose Easy, Medium or Hard before you start. Easy makes plenty of mistakes, Medium looks a few moves ahead, and Hard searches deeply for free turns and captures, so it is a real test.
Controls
- Touch: tap any glowing pit on your row. The board fits a phone in portrait.
- Mouse: click a pit. Each pit shows its seed count, so you can plan without counting dots.
- Keyboard: press Tab to move between your playable pits and Enter to sow.
Mancala Strategy Tips
- Count to your store. A pit is a free turn when its seed count equals its distance to your store. On the opening board, the third pit from the left lands exactly in your store.
- Play the rightmost pit early. Your pit next to the store can often be emptied cheaply, which makes room for later captures.
- Guard your big pits. Before you move, check which of your rival's pits could land in an empty pit opposite your largest pile.
- Hoard on the right. Seeds that sit near your store at the end are counted for you, so a quiet stockpile can win a tight game.
- Run the clock out. When you are ahead, emptying your own row early ends the game while your lead is safe.
Kalah, Congkak and the Mancala Family
Mancala is not one game but a family of hundreds of sowing games played across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with boards found carved into stone that are well over a thousand years old. The name comes from the Arabic word naqala, to move. Kalah, the version used here, was published in the United States in 1940 by William Julius Champion Jr. and became the Mancala most people in the West know.
Open the Variants list on this page to try two more. Kalah with six seeds starts every pit with six seeds for longer sowing and bigger captures. Congkak, also known as congklak, is the mancala game of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Searching for congkak online? Our version uses seven houses with seven seeds each and relay sowing: if your last seed lands in a house that already has seeds, you lift them all and keep going. Captures and free turns work just like Kalah, so it is a great next step once you have mastered Mancala online 2 player.
Mancala FAQ
Can you play Mancala online with a friend?
Yes. Press Create room to get a five-character room code, send it or the invite link to your friend, and approve them when they join. Each of you plays from your own phone, tablet or computer.
Can 2 players play Mancala on one device?
Yes. Choose Local vs and pass the device back and forth. Only the pits of the player whose turn it is can be tapped, and their name is highlighted.
Can I play Mancala single player against the computer?
Yes. Press Play vs Computer and choose Easy, Medium or Hard. Hard looks many moves ahead for free turns and captures.
Which Mancala rules do you use?
Kalah rules: six pits per side with four seeds each, sowing counter-clockwise and skipping your rival's store, a free turn when your last seed lands in your store, and a capture when it lands in one of your own empty pits opposite seeds.
How do you capture in Mancala?
End your move in one of your own empty pits. If the pit directly opposite has seeds, you take them plus your last seed and put them all in your store.
How does a game of Mancala end?
When all the pits on one side are empty. Each player then adds the seeds left on their own side to their store, and the bigger store wins. 24 each is a draw.
Can I play Congkak online?
Yes. Pick Congkak from the Variants list. It uses seven houses with seven seeds and relay sowing, where a last seed in a non-empty house lets you lift those seeds and keep sowing.
Is this Mancala game free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no download, app or account. It runs in any modern browser on desktop, tablet and mobile.
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