Cowrie Mancala

Two rows of hollows carved in a plank of iroko, a store at each end, and a handful of cowrie shells. The same count-and-sow game is played from Istanbul schoolyards to Accra markets, under three sets of rules; this board knows all three.

Mancala against the computer in three rule sets, Kalah, Oware and Turkish Mangala: five levels, a ladder of ten opponents, 120 puzzles.

On the title screen pick Match, Ladder or Puzzles, then press Play. The setup card opens with the rules your language's players usually use (Kalah in English, Mangala in Turkish, Oware in French), and one tap switches to another. Your pits are the bottom row and your store is at the right end. Tap one of your pits, or move to it with the arrow keys and press Enter (or 1 to 6): its seeds are sown one by one counterclockwise, and with the mouse a pit you point at shows where its last seed will land. Kalah: seeds go into your own store but skip your opponent's; a last seed in your store gives you another move, and a last seed in an empty pit of yours takes it and the seeds opposite. When one side runs out, each player keeps the seeds on their own side. Oware: no seeds go into the stores while sowing, and a pit of twelve or more skips its own pit on the way round; if your last seed makes one of your opponent's pits hold 2 or 3, you take it and every pit just before it on their side that also holds 2 or 3, but a move that would take all their seeds takes none. When your opponent has no seeds you must give them some; 25 seeds win. Mangala: the first stone goes back into the pit it came from; a last stone in your store gives another move, a last stone that makes one of your opponent's pits even takes that pit, and a last stone in an empty pit of yours takes the stones opposite; the player whose side empties first takes every stone left on the other side. Match: move first or second, levels 1 Beginner to 5 Master; Undo takes back your last turn and the reply, Hint marks the pit the computer would choose for you. Ladder: ten opponents per rule set, from Scatter to Master. Puzzles: four chapters of ten per rule set: bank a set number of seeds in one turn, capture the most in one move, or win an ending against the best defence. The daily puzzle is the same for every player. Winning at level 3, beating the third ladder opponent or solving a puzzle from chapter 2 opens hard mode: no undo, no hints, no landing preview, and one wrong move ends a puzzle.