Backgammon
FOOLFISH GAMES
Mancala
Play Mancala online for free.
Mancala
Game details
- Developer
- FoolFish Studio
- Category
- Board
- Controls
- Mouse · Touch · Keyboard
- Players
- Local multiplayer
- Devices
- desktop · mobile
- Published
- 2026-09-29
- Orientation
- Portrait and landscape
Game previews
About Mancala
Play Mancala online for free. Sow stones around a classic Kalah board, earn extra turns and capture opposite pits. Choose easy, medium or hard computer play, or take turns with a friend on one device. Learn with a seven-step tutorial and continue your saved game later.
How to play Mancala
Each player has six pits containing four stones and one empty store. Player 1 uses the lower row and the right store. Choose a nonempty pit on your side.
Sow one stone at a time counter-clockwise into each following pit and your own store. Skip your opponent’s store. Finish in your store to take another turn.
If the final stone lands in an empty pit on your side and the opposite pit is not empty, capture both that stone and the opposite stones into your store.
When either side has no stones in its six pits, the other player collects all remaining stones. The larger store wins; 24–24 is a draw.
Play the computer at Easy, Medium or Hard, or share one device with a friend. Click, tap, or use Tab and Enter. Hint suggests a pit. Continue game restores your board. Sign in on FoolFish before opening for account checkpoints. This release has no remote rooms.
Controls
Mouse
Touch
Keyboard
Play free Mancala online
Mancala is a family of sowing games, and this browser version uses Kalah rules. Two players share a board with twelve small pits and two larger stores. Each small pit starts with four stones. Choose Play computer for a solo match at Easy, Medium or Hard, or Play with a friend for two players on the same device. A new game starts with the lower player. No download or account is needed to begin.
Earn another turn or capture across the board
Your last stone decides what happens next. Finishing in your own store earns another turn. Finishing in an empty pit on your own side captures the stones directly opposite, together with your final stone, provided that opposite pit is not empty. Landing in an empty opposing pit does not capture anything. These two rules make counting more useful than simply choosing the fullest pit.
Know when the game ends
The game ends when either player has no stones left in their six small pits. The other player moves all remaining stones from their side into their store. Compare the final totals: more stones wins, and 24–24 is a draw. All forty-eight stones are counted. Play again lets the previous loser start; after a draw, the first player alternates. Choosing a new mode starts a fresh board with Player 1 first.
Mancala strategy for your first matches
Look for a pit whose stones finish exactly in your store, then check whether the extra turn opens a capture. Watch empty pits on both sides: a single stone can turn a large opposite pile into a capture. Near the end, count the stones that will be swept into each store before emptying your side. Hint suggests a move without playing it for you. Easy chooses random legal moves, Medium favours extra turns and captures, and Hard searches ahead.
Play on a phone and return to your board
The board fits desktop, portrait and landscape browser windows. Click or tap a pit, or use Tab and Enter. The seven-step Learn to play tutorial explains the board, sowing, extra turns, captures and scoring. Sound can be switched off from the top bar. Continue game restores browser progress, including a move interrupted during its animation. Sign in on FoolFish before opening the game for account checkpoints. Friends mode shares this screen; it does not connect remote players.
Common questions
Is this Mancala or Kalah?
Mancala names a family of games. This version uses Kalah: six pits per player, four stones per pit, stores, bonus turns, captures and a final sweep.
How do you capture in Mancala?
Your final stone must land in an empty pit on your own side while the opposite pit contains stones. Move that final stone and the opposite stones into your store.
Can I play Mancala against the computer?
Yes. Choose Easy, Medium or Hard. You can also take turns with a friend on one device.
Can Mancala end in a draw?
Yes. After the final sweep, a 24–24 score is a draw.
