Step-by-Step Tutorial
Oware (also called Awale or Abapa) is a classic West African Mancala game played on a board with two rows of six pits.
Unlike Kalah (Mancala), Oware has no stores on the board. Captured seeds are kept off to the side as your score.
Each pit starts with 4 seeds (48 total). Player 0 (South) owns pits 0-5 on the bottom row, and Player 1 (North) owns pits 6-11 on the top row. South moves first.
On your turn, pick up all seeds from one of your six pits and sow them counter-clockwise (to the right from South's perspective), dropping one seed per pit.
Seeds wrap around the board continuously. If a pit has 12 or more seeds, you skip the starting pit on the next lap (it stays empty).
Here, South picked up 4 seeds from pit 2 and sowed them into pits 3, 4, 5, and 6.
In Oware, you capture seeds when the last seed you sow lands in an opponent's pit that now contains exactly 2 or 3 seeds.
The capture chains backwards: if the preceding pit (also on the opponent's side) also has 2 or 3 seeds, you capture those too, and so on.
Here, South sowed the last seed into pit 9 (opponent's territory), which now has 2 seeds. Pit 8 also has 3 seeds. South captures 2 + 3 = 5 seeds from pits 9 and 8.
There is one important restriction on capturing: you may not capture all of the opponent's seeds in a single turn.
This is called a grand slam. If your sowing would capture every seed on the opponent's side, the capture is cancelled and no seeds are taken.
This rule exists to keep the game alive, because a player with no seeds cannot make a move.
In this position, South's pit 5 has 3 seeds. If South sows from pit 5, the last seed would land in pit 8. Pits 6, 7, and 8 would all have 2 or 3 seeds, capturing everything on North's side. The capture is forbidden.
If your opponent's side is completely empty, you must make a move that gives them at least one seed ("feeds" them).
If none of your moves can reach the opponent's side, you capture all remaining seeds on your own side, and the game ends.
This rule ensures the game continues as long as possible and rewards players who manage their seed distribution wisely.
Here, North's side is empty. South must choose a pit with enough seeds to reach North's pits (pit 3, 4, or 5 all can reach).
The game ends when one player captures 25 or more seeds (a majority of the 48 total). That player wins immediately.
The game also ends when one side is empty and the other player cannot feed them. In that case, the remaining seeds go to the player whose side still has them, and the higher score wins.
If both players have exactly 24 seeds, the game is a draw.
Here, South has captured 26 seeds through careful play, winning the game.
Oware is a deep strategy game despite its simple rules. Here are key concepts:
Count seeds carefully. Knowing the exact count in each pit helps you plan captures and avoid giving your opponent chain captures.
Build up pits. Accumulating many seeds in one pit lets you sow a long distance and reach opponent pits that are ripe for capture.
Watch for 2s and 3s. Since capture only happens when the last seed creates a 2 or 3, keep track of opponent pits with 1 or 2 seeds.
Control the endgame. Late in the game, force the opponent into positions where they must feed you, or capture all remaining seeds by emptying their side.
Ready to play Oware?