Oware
Sow seeds counter-clockwise and capture pits of two or three.
How to play Oware
Oware is the best-known West African mancala game, played in Ghana as Oware and elsewhere as Awalé, Awari or Ayo. This page uses the abapa rules used in tournaments. The board has two rows of six pits with four seeds each. The bottom row is yours. Captured seeds are kept in the long pits at the ends: yours is on the right.
Goal
Capture 25 seeds or more, which is over half of the 48 seeds.
Turn by turn
- Pick one of your pits with seeds. Tap it or press the keys 1 to 6.
- All its seeds are sown one by one, counter-clockwise: to the right along your row, then along the top row.
- If you sow 12 seeds or more, you skip the pit you started from.
- Capture: if your last seed lands in an opponent's pit and makes it hold 2 or 3 seeds, you take them. Then look at the pit before it: if it also holds 2 or 3 and is on their side, take it too, and so on.
- Grand slam: a move that would capture every seed on your opponent's side is allowed, but it captures nothing.
- Feed your opponent: if their row is empty, you must play a move that gives them seeds, if you have one.
End of the game
The game ends when a player reaches 25 seeds, or at 24 each for a draw. If a player cannot feed an empty opponent, the game ends and that player keeps the seeds on their side. If the seeds go round in an endless loop (the same position comes up for the third time), each player keeps the seeds on their own side. Most seeds wins.
Want a game with extra turns? Try Mancala or the Indonesian Congklak.
Strategy tips
- Count the landing pit. Before you move, count where your last seed falls and how many seeds it will make there. One or two seeds in an opponent pit are targets.
- Build a big pit. A pit with 12 or more seeds (a "kroo") goes all the way round and can capture a whole row of twos and threes at once.
- Avoid ones and twos at home. Your pits holding 1 or 2 seeds are what your opponent wants to hit. Move them or fill them up.
- Keep moves in reserve. Seeds on your right side are slow to leave your row. They give you safe waiting moves later in the game.
- Use the feeding rule. When your opponent runs low, they must feed you. Plan for the seeds they are forced to give.
Oware FAQ
Is Oware the same as Awale or Awari?
Yes. They are names for the same game in different countries. This page uses the abapa rules, the most common tournament version.
What is a grand slam?
A move that would take every seed on your opponent's side. Here it is allowed, but nothing is captured, so your opponent still has seeds to play.
Why can't I play that pit?
When your opponent's row is empty you must give them seeds. Only moves whose seeds reach their side are allowed then.
How strong is the computer?
Easy often plays at random. Medium looks a few moves ahead. Hard searches deep, sets up big captures and rarely leaves an easy target.
