Oware
Free online mancala game · Play the computer · No sign-up
Oware in a nutshell
Oware is a two-player mancala game played on a board of twelve pits. You take turns scooping up the seeds from one of your pits and sowing them one by one around the board. Capture seeds when your last seed makes a pit of two or three on your opponent's side, and win by collecting more than half of the 48 seeds.
- Fill the board. Put 4 seeds in each of the 12 pits. The row of 6 pits nearest you is yours.
- Pick up a pit. On your turn, choose one of your pits that has seeds in it and pick up all of them.
- Sow the seeds. Drop one seed into each pit in turn, going anticlockwise around the board. If you have 12 or more seeds, skip the pit you started from.
- Capture twos and threes. If your last seed lands in your opponent's pit and makes it 2 or 3, you capture those seeds.
At a glance
- Players
- 2 players face to face
- Length
- 10 to 20 minutes per game
- Equipment
- 12 pits, 48 seeds or a board drawn in sand
- Learn it in
- 5 minutes deep strategy to explore
Oware questions
Is Oware the same as Ayo and Awalé?
They are closely related members of the same family of mancala games. Oware is the Ghanaian name, Ayo the Yoruba name used in Nigeria, and Awalé the name used in Côte d'Ivoire. The rules can differ a little from place to place.
What does mancala mean?
Mancala is the name for the whole family of sowing games played with pits and seeds. Oware is one of the best-known mancala games.
Can I capture on my own side?
No. In Oware you only capture seeds from your opponent's row.
What happens if a move would capture all of my opponent's seeds?
Under the common Abapa rules, you may make the move but you do not capture anything, because that would leave your opponent unable to play.
How does an Oware game end?
It ends when one player has 25 seeds or more. It can also end when a player cannot be given any seeds, or when the same few seeds go round forever; the remaining seeds are then usually shared out or taken by the player whose side they are on.
What is a big house?
When a player builds up a large number of seeds in one pit, often 12 or more, it is sometimes called a house. Sowing it later can lap the whole board and set up a big capture.
More free African games
BaoFour rows of pits; the great strategy game of East Africa.
MorabarabaLine up three cows to capture, from Southern Africa.
FanoronaCapture by approach and withdrawal, from Madagascar.
DaraMake rows of three in the sand, from West Africa.
SenetRace across the board, from ancient Egypt.
LusonaPlace mirrors to make one unbroken line, inspired by Angolan sand drawings.