How to play Mangala: rules, strategy and tips

Mangala is the Turkish member of the mancala family: you sow stones one by one around the pits, and where your last stone lands decides whether you grab your opponent’s stones. No dice, no hidden cards. Both players see everything, so whoever counts better wins. This guide covers the full rules and the counting tricks that turn into points.

Play Mangala

What is Mangala and how is it set up?

Mangala is a two-player game on a board with 12 pits. Each player owns the row of 6 pits in front of them plus a large store on their right, where captured stones are kept.

At the start every pit holds 4 stones, 48 in total, and both stores are empty. When the game ends, the player with more stones in their store wins.

In this guide your pits are numbered 1 to 6 towards your store: pit 1 is the farthest from it, pit 6 sits right next to it. On Stockboi, keys 1 to 6 pick your pits in the same order.

Mangala rules, one by one

On your turn, pick any pit on your side that has stones and scoop up all of them. You can’t pass or choose an empty pit.
Drop the first stone back into the pit you just emptied, then one stone into each following pit, moving towards your store.
If the pit holds a single stone, it doesn’t stay put: it moves straight into the next pit.
Sowing passes through your own store, which gets a stone, and continues into your opponent’s pits. Your opponent’s store is skipped; it never receives a stone from you.
With enough stones, sowing wraps all the way around the board and back into your own pits.
If your last stone lands in your own store, you take another turn. This can chain several times.
If your last stone lands in an opponent pit and makes its count even (2, 4, 6...), you capture every stone in that pit.
If your last stone lands in an empty pit on your side and the opponent pit directly across has stones, you capture that stone plus everything across. If the pit across is empty, your stone just stays.
The game ends as soon as, after a move, one side has all six pits empty.
At the end, all stones left in the other side’s pits go to the store of the player whose pits are empty. In other words, the first player to run out also collects what their opponent still has.
That cuts both ways: if you capture your opponent’s last stones and empty their side, the stones left on your side go to their store.
Bigger store wins. A 24-24 finish is a draw.

How a move works

Look at your pits and count where the last stone of each one would land.
Does any pit end exactly in your store? If so, playing it first is usually right: free turn.
Scan your opponent’s pits with an odd number of stones. If your last stone can land on one, you make it even and take the lot.
Check your empty pits. If a last stone lands in one and the pit across is full, you take that too.
Tap the pit you chose. The stones are sown and any capture flows into your store automatically.
Then think about the reply: which of your pits just became odd, and which empty pit of theirs now faces a big pile of yours?

Free-turn counting and the best opening

Free turns are the most valuable thing in Mangala, because you move again before your opponent can answer. The math is simple: if pit number plus stones in it adds up to 8, the last stone lands exactly in your store.

So 7 stones in pit 1, 6 in pit 2, 5 in pit 3, 4 in pit 4, 3 in pit 5 or 2 in pit 6 all give you a free turn. A single stone in pit 6 also goes straight into the store. When a pit has enough stones to lap the board, the same rule works with 13 more stones.

At the start every pit has 4 stones, so pit 4 fits perfectly. Open with pit 4 and your last stone drops into your store, giving you a second move straight away.

After that free turn, look for another pit that reaches the store. If there is none, choose a move that doesn’t hand your opponent an even capture or an empty pit raid.

Mangala strategy and tactics

Order your free turns. If several pits reach the store, play the one closest to the store first. Playing a far pit first drops stones into the closer ones and ruins their count.

Pits with an odd number of stones are targets, because your opponent’s last stone can make them even. Leave your pits even when you can, or make sure none of their pits can reach the odd one.

Read their side the same way. Every odd pit over there is a capture waiting for your last stone.

Set up empty pit traps. An empty pit of yours facing a full one is a threat; prepare a pit whose last stone will land there next turn. Single-stone pits are ideal, since the stone hops into the next pit.

Don’t pile stones opposite your opponent’s empty pits. One stone landing in that empty pit takes the whole pile.

Plan the ending early. If your side is about to run dry while your opponent still holds lots of stones, emptying your side hands you all of them. The flip side: hoarding a big pile on your side is risky if their side empties first, because that pile goes to them.

Common beginner mistakes

Moving without counting. Mangala is a counting game; check where the last stone lands every single time.
Thinking stones go into the opponent’s store. They never do; it’s skipped while you sow.
Expecting a lone stone to stay in its pit. A single stone always moves to the next pit.
Playing free turns in the wrong order and wasting one of them.
Forgetting the endgame rule. Capturing your opponent’s last stones can gift them everything left on your side.

A short history of Mangala

Mangala is the Anatolian branch of the mancala family, the stone-sowing games that have been played for centuries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Traditionally it was played on carved wooden boards or in holes scooped into the ground, with pebbles, seeds or beads as stones.

In Turkey it’s also played in schools and in strategy game tournaments. The rules in this guide are the ones widely used in Turkey, which differ in a few details from other mancala games you might know.

Playing Mangala on Stockboi

Against the computer: choose Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy plays mostly at random, Medium is greedy and grabs free turns and the biggest captures, and Hard looks many moves ahead. You open the first round, then the first move alternates.
With a friend: tap Play with a friend and send the link. The moment your friend opens it, you’re at the same board.
Random opponent: get matched with someone who wants to play Mangala right now. If nobody turns up, we tell you clearly and you can play the computer instead.
Online you have 60 seconds per move. A rematch needs both players to agree, and the first move switches sides.
Just tap a pit to play. On a computer, keys 1 to 6 work too.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if your last stone lands in your store?

You get another turn straight away. It can happen several times in a row if your counting is good.

What is the even capture rule in Mangala?

If your last stone lands in an opponent pit and makes the number of stones there even, all the stones in that pit go to your store.

What happens when the last stone lands in an empty pit?

If it’s an empty pit on your side and the opponent pit across has stones, you capture your stone and everything across. If the pit across is empty, nothing happens.

Is Mangala the same as mancala?

Mancala is the name of the whole family of sowing games, and Mangala is the version played in Turkey. Its rules, like dropping the first stone back into the starting pit and the even capture, differ from other mancala games.

What is the best first move in Mangala?

Play the third pit from your store (pit 4). Its 4 stones end exactly in your store, so you get a free second move.

Can Mangala end in a draw?

Yes. There are 48 stones in total, so if both stores end with 24, it’s a draw.