MANGALA RULES (TURKISH MANCALA)

Mangala is the Turkish member of the mancala family: two players, twelve pits, two stores and forty-eight stones. No dice, no cards — everything is visible and every result comes from calculation.

SETUP

Each player owns the six pits in front of them and the large store to their right. Place 4 stones in every pit; the stores start empty. The player with more stones in their store at the end wins, so 25 stones is enough for victory.

HOW A TURN WORKS

1. Pick one of your own non-empty pits and take all its stones.
2. The first stone goes back into the pit you took it from. If the pit held a single stone, that stone moves to the next pit instead.
3. Sow the remaining stones one by one, counter-clockwise: through your pits, into your own store, then into your opponent's pits. You never drop a stone into your opponent's store.

THE THREE KEY RULES

• Extra turn — if your last stone lands in your own store, you move again. Chaining several extra turns is the strongest tempo weapon in the game.
• Capture by evening out — if your last stone lands in a pit on your opponent's side and makes the number of stones there even (2, 4, 6…), you take every stone in that pit.
• Empty-pit capture — if your last stone lands in an empty pit on your own side, you take that stone plus every stone in the pit directly opposite.

Only one of these can trigger per move, because only the last stone matters.

ENDING AND SCORING

The game ends when one player's six pits are all empty. Every stone still on the board goes to the store of the player on whose side it sits. Count the stores: more stones wins, 24-24 is a draw.

THE KALE VARIANT

In the popular "kale" (castle) variant, if your last stone makes an opponent's pit hold exactly three stones, that pit becomes your castle: every stone dropped into it for the rest of the game counts for you. It rewards long-term planning over quick captures.

WHERE TO PLAY

You can play mangala online for free in the Türk Mangala app: instant matchmaking with real opponents, daily Swiss-system tournaments, ELO ranking and AI practice. Google Play · App Store · more about the game.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many stones are used in mangala?

48 stones in total. At the start each of the 12 pits holds 4 stones; the two stores (treasuries) start empty.

What makes Turkish mangala different from other mancala games?

Three rules: the first stone stays in the pit you picked up from, you capture a pit when your last stone makes it an even number, and landing your last stone in an empty pit on your own side captures the stones opposite it.

Who moves first in mangala?

It is decided by lot. In online matches the server picks randomly.

How long does a game take?

Usually 5 to 10 minutes.