Seedfall Mancala: play Mancala online free

Sow glowing seeds, land in your store for an extra turn and capture your opponent's pits. Kalah or Oware against the computer, a friend online or on one screen.

Available offline

What is Seedfall Mancala?

Seedfall Mancala is the classic count-and-capture board game, ready to play in your browser. Pick up every seed in one of your pits and sow them one by one around the board. Land the last seed in your store and you go again; land it in an empty pit on your side and you capture the pit across from it. Every pit shows its count, and before you move the board shows exactly where your last seed will land.

Play the computer at four levels, from a forgiving Easy to an Insane opponent that looks fifteen or more moves ahead, invite a friend online with a link or a code, take on the next player in a quick match, or pass one screen back and forth. Choose Kalah with four or six seeds, or the West African game Oware.

How to play Seedfall Mancala

The row nearest you is yours, and your store is the big pit on your right. Seeds are sown counter-clockwise.
Tap a pit on your side to pick up all its seeds and drop one in each pit that follows, including your own store but never your opponent's.
If the last seed lands in your store, take another turn.
If the last seed lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, capture both into your store.
When one side has no seeds left, the game ends. Each player adds the seeds on their own side to their store, and the bigger store wins.
Hover over a pit, or press and hold it on a phone, to see where the last seed will land before you commit.

Seedfall Mancala tips and strategy

Count from the right. A pit holding exactly as many seeds as it is away from your store gives a free extra turn; play those first, starting nearest the store.
Chain extra turns: after one, look for another pit that now ends in your store.
Guard against captures. An empty pit on your opponent's side facing a full pit of yours is a target.
In Oware, avoid leaving pits of one or two seeds where your opponent can turn them into twos and threes.

Kalah and Oware rules

Kalah is the most widely played mancala in North America and Europe: six pits a side, four seeds in each (or six for a longer game), stores that collect seeds as you pass them, extra turns and captures across the board. Oware, played across West Africa and the Caribbean, has no stores in the sowing. You capture on your opponent's side when your last seed makes a pit of two or three, and you keep capturing backwards while the pits before it also hold two or three. A move that would take every one of your opponent's seeds captures nothing, and if their side is empty you must give them seeds. The first to 25 wins.

The four computer levels

Easy mostly plays at random and only sometimes spots an extra turn. Medium looks three moves ahead. Hard searches eight moves deep, and Insane searches as deep as it can in about a second and a half (usually fifteen or more moves). Near the end it sees right to the final count. Hints use the Hard engine: two a game on Easy, one on Medium and Hard, none on Insane.

Play Mancala online with a friend

Choose Online to play someone on another device. Quick match pairs you with the next player who is ready, and Invite a friend gives you a link or a code. Every move is checked on our server, a dropped connection picks up where it left off, and either player can ask for a rematch.

Seedfall Mancala FAQ

Is Seedfall Mancala free?

Yes. It is free to play in your browser with no download and no account needed.

How do you play Mancala?

Pick up all the seeds in a pit on your side and sow them one at a time counter-clockwise. Land your last seed in your store to go again, or in an empty pit on your side to capture the seeds opposite. When a side runs out, the bigger store wins.

What happens when the last seed lands in my store?

In Kalah you take another turn straight away, and you can chain several extra turns in a row.

How do captures work in Mancala?

In Kalah, if your last seed lands in an empty pit on your own side and the pit directly across has seeds, you take both into your store. In Oware you capture on your opponent's side when your last seed makes a pit of two or three.

What is the difference between Kalah and Oware?

Kalah sows into your own store, gives extra turns and captures across the board. Oware has no stores in the sowing, captures twos and threes on the other side, and makes you feed an opponent who has run out of seeds.

Who wins Mancala when one side runs out of seeds?

In Kalah the game ends as soon as one side is empty. Each player puts the seeds left on their side into their own store, and the player with more seeds wins.

Is there a winning strategy for Mancala?

Look for pits that end exactly in your store, chain extra turns, protect pits that face your opponent's empty pits, and keep some seeds in reserve near your store for the endgame.

Can I play Mancala with a friend online?

Yes. Choose Online, tap Invite a friend and send the link or the code. You can also take on a random player with Quick match, or share one screen with Same screen.

How strong is the Insane computer?

Very strong. It searches fifteen or more moves ahead and plays the endgame almost perfectly, so beating it takes careful counting.

PLAY →