Ya kwa diteng

Lelapa la go jala

Mela e mebedi, dipeo di se kae, le kakanyo ya bogologolo

Mancala ga se motshameko o le mongwe. Ke lelapa la metshameko e e agilweng mo tirong e le nngwe: tsaya dipeo mo mosimeng o le mongwe o bo o di tsenya ka bongwe go dikologa boto.

Tshameka KalahTshameka OwareE dira jang
A carved hardwood sowing board photographed at an angle, its two rows of round pits empty and waiting for the first seeds.

Metshameko mo saeteng eno

Kalah and Oware play in full today. The rest of the family is on its way.

E dira jang

  1. 1

    Pick up a pit

    Choose any pit on your own side that still has seeds in it.

  2. 2

    Sow one at a time

    Drop one seed into each pit as you go round the board, always in the same direction.

  3. 3

    Where the last seed lands

    That single seed decides everything: another turn, a capture, or the end of your move.

  4. 4

    Count the seeds

    Whoever has gathered more than half of the seeds when the board empties has won.

Mokgwa o le mongwe, metshameko e mentsi

Sowing games are played from Ghana to Kyrgyzstan to the Philippines. They are not one game that travelled — they are many games that found the same good idea. The family page traces how they relate.

Bala hisitori ya lelapa

What you get

  • No account needed

    Local and computer games run entirely in your browser. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.

  • Real variants

    Each game ships the rule sets people actually play, with the differences spelled out rather than hidden in a menu.

  • Taught, not just listed

    Rules pages explain why a rule exists. Tutorials walk one idea at a time with a diagram.

  • Explain any move

    Replay the sowing path of any move to see exactly where each seed went.