Mancala is an African-Muslim strategy board game which exists in many forms throughout Africa, Islamic countries, India and the West Indies. Players take turns picking up stones from one cup and ‘sowing’ them into successive cups, one at a time. Stones that are placed in the last cup may be ‘captured’. The stones represent seeds. The cups represent the ground they are planted in.

The mancala board consists of six cups on one side and six on the other side. At each end, on the line that separates the two sets of cups, there are two larger boxes. Each player chooses their container which is called the ‘mancala’. To start the game the mancala board is set up with three stones in each of the twelve cups.
The game is played by two players at a time. Players take turns. Each player "owns" the mancala on his right and the six small cups closest to him/her. Player 1 starts by picking up all the stones from one of his/her small cups (players may never start from a mancala or from the opponent's six cups). Player 1 drops one stone into the next cups on the right, one stone into the second cup on the right, continuing around the board (counter-clockwise) until he/she has no more stones in his/her hand. If Player 1 reaches his own mancala, he/she drops a stone into it. Players do not drop stones into their opponent’s mancala, they skip it and continue dropping stones, one at a time, from their hand until they run out of stones. If the last seed the player sows goes into their mancala they get another turn.
If the last stone the player ‘sows’ ends up in an empty cup on their side of the board they capture that seed and all their opponents seeds in the cup opposite to the one they placed the last stone in. All the captured stones are put into their mancala.
The game can end when one player clears all the cups on their side of the board. The opponent must then move seeds onto the player’s side if possible. If this isn’t possible the game is over and the opponent adds the remaining seeds to his mancala. The player with the most seeds in his mancala wins.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document Strategy board game: a board game that requires skilful planning.
To sow: to plant.
Successive: one right after the other, in a row.
To represent: to play the part of.
Counter-clockwise: moving in the direction opposite to the movements of the hands of a clock.
Opponent: the person against whom you are playing or fighting.

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Mancala