Play Mangala Online
Play a free Mangala game online on a warm courtyard board. Leave one stone behind, count where the last stone will land and capture an opponent's even pit. Learn Mangala rules through 20 progressive endgames, play a complete set against the computer or share the board with a friend on one device. No ads or download.
How to play Mangala online
- Choose Challenges, Vs computer or Two players. A full set begins with four stones in each of twelve pits, 48 altogether. Player 1 owns the bottom row and the store on the right.
- Pick a nonempty pit on the active player's row. With several stones, leave one in that pit and sow the rest forward. With one stone, move it to the next pit. Include your own store and skip your opponent's store.
- Use the last stone to earn another turn or capture stones. When either row empties, that player collects all remaining stones from the other row. The larger store wins; challenges also require the displayed score margin.
Controls
Tap a pit or its numbered button. Keys 1 to 6 choose a pit on the active row, H requests a hint and U undoes. A drag away or canceled touch does not sow. Help opens separately, and Pause stops computer play until you resume.
A tip before you start
Before capturing an opposing pit, count how many other opposing pits still hold stones. If your capture empties that entire row, your opponent receives every stone left on your side. A large immediate capture can therefore lose the set.
Mangala rules for this table
This is the modern Turkish 48-stone game, played as one untimed set. Each player owns six pits and one store. Sowing runs counterclockwise, through your own store and past the opponent's store without depositing there. With two or more stones, the first stone stays in the pit you selected; a single stone moves forward instead.
Three outcomes for the last stone
If the final stone lands in your own store, take another turn unless a row has emptied. If it lands in an opposing pit and makes that pit's total even, capture the entire pit. If it lands in your own empty pit and the opposite pit contains stones, take that final stone and all the opposite stones. An empty opposite pit gives no capture.
The empty row receives the final sweep
As soon as either player's row is empty at the end of a move, that empty-row player takes all stones remaining on the other side. The rule depends on which row is empty, even if the other player's capture caused it. Compare stores after that sweep: more stones wins and 24 each is a draw. The set continues until a row empties, even when one store already has more than 24.
How this Mangala game differs from Kalah
Mancala uses Kalah rules: the selected pit is emptied, there is no opposing even-pit capture, and remaining stones go to their existing owner's store. Mangala leaves one stone in a multi-stone pit, adds the even capture and awards the final sweep to the empty-row player. These differences change both landing counts and endgame plans.
Twenty endgames with more planning
Every challenge comes from legal moves in a complete 48-stone set. Finish at least the displayed number of stones ahead against exact computer replies. Across the ordered studies, stones still on the board increase from 5 to 11, opening choices from 2 to 4 and optimal lines from 3 to 24 moves. Branching decisions increase while those measures never decrease. Personal difficulty can vary, and every study includes an opening choice that would fail to win.
Complete sets alone or with a friend
Vs computer begins at the full initial board. The opponent uses a bounded search of the visible position and can be beaten. Two players lets both people take turns on the same device. These complete sets follow the same capture and ending rules but do not unlock challenge levels; no remote multiplayer room is required or provided.
Hints, Undo and saved progress
Hint marks a suggested pit without playing it. In challenges, it preserves the target when the target remains forced. Undo restores the last human move and subsequent computer turns; with two players it restores one move. Used hints remain counted. Restart and mode changes ask for confirmation. Unlocks, best scores and sound preference save locally when storage is available; unfinished sets restart after reload.
A specific modern rules profile
This table uses the modern retain-one, even-capture and empty-row-sweep profile. It does not use Kale capture pits, tournament clocks or a multi-set tournament format. Other Mangala versions can score the remaining stones differently. The complete rules for this table are available through Help throughout play.
Frequently asked questions
Why does one stone stay in the pit?
In this Mangala game, a pit with several stones starts sowing in itself. Only a pit containing exactly one stone is emptied immediately into the next pit.
Does a single stone into my store give another turn?
Yes, provided neither row has emptied. The ending rule takes priority if a row becomes empty.
Can I capture an opposing pit with an odd total?
No. The final stone must make that opposing pit even for an even capture. Other pits along the sowing path are not captured just because they become even.
Do I take my final stone when the opposite pit is empty?
No. The own-empty-pit capture requires at least one stone in the opposite pit. Otherwise your final stone stays where it landed.
Which Mangala rules decide the last stones?
The player whose row empties receives the remaining stones from the other row. This can reward your opponent if your move clears their last occupied pit.
Is this the same as Togyzkumalak?
No. Togyzkumalak uses nine pits per side, 162 stones and permanent tuzdyk capture pits. This game has six pits per side, 48 stones, stores in the sowing path and possible extra turns.
About Mangala
Play a free Mangala game online on a warm courtyard board. Leave one stone behind, count where the last stone will land and capture an opponent's even pit. Learn Mangala rules through 20 progressive endgames, play a complete set against the computer or share the board with a friend on one device. No ads or download.
Play this puzzle / casual game in the embedded browser player. No app installation or MangoFun account is required. Follow the instructions shown inside the game; controls and device support depend on the title.
