Mancala
Decide who goes first with a coin flip or other method. There are three steps to playing the game. Each game lasts around five to 10 minutes.
1. Place four stones into each of the pits.
2. The starting player grabs all the stones from one hole on their side and drops them, one by one, into each pit around the board going in a counterclockwise direction. If you pass over your mancala store, (large hole on the right of your side of the board) place a stone in there, too. That is how you get points. If you happen to pass by the other player’s store, skip it. Do not place stones in the opponent’s store. Once you don’t have any more stones in your hand, it’s the other person’s turn.
3. Once you touch the stones in a hole, you are committed to using that hole.
4. If you place your last stone in your store, you get a free turn to go again. In this version of Mancala, this is the only way to get more than one turn. Remember, if you pass over the other player’s store during your turn, do not place a stone in it.
5. If your last stone is placed on your side of the board, and that hole was empty before you placed that stone, collect all your opponent’s stones in the hole directly across from that hole and put all the stones in your store. However, if there are no stones in the opponent’s hole, your turn is simply over, and you do not collect stones.
6. The game ends when one player has emptied the six holes of stones on their side. The other player then takes all the stones on their own side and places them into their store.
7. At that point, count the stones in your store. The winner of the game is the player with the most stones.
There are other versions of Mancala. These, however, are the basic accepted rules. Feel free to use other versions if you know them or are inclined to research the history of the game.