How to play

Each player owns the row of six pits nearest to them and the large store at their right-hand end. Every pit starts with four seeds. On your turn, tap one of your pits that has seeds: all of its seeds are picked up and sown one at a time into the pits that follow, going to the right along your row, into your store, then along the other row from right to left (you skip your opponent’s store). The pits you can choose are outlined.

Two special rules make the game tactical. If your last seed lands in your own store, you get another turn. If your last seed lands in an empty pit on your side and the pit opposite has seeds, you capture both: those seeds and your last one go to your store. The game ends when one player has no seeds left on their side; the other player keeps the seeds still on theirs. Whoever has the most seeds in their store wins. This is a version of the mancala family of games, which has been played in many forms for centuries.

The computer has three levels: Easy picks a pit at random, Medium looks three moves ahead, and Hard looks eight moves ahead.

Tips

Look for moves that land exactly in your store: the pit that is the same number of seeds from the store as it holds (the pit nearest the store needs one seed, the next needs two) gives a free turn, and you can often chain several in a row if you plan the order. Keep your seeds on your own side when you can, because seeds on your side are yours at the end. Watch for empty pits on your side opposite a full pit of theirs, which are capture chances for you, and guard against the same for them.