# Mancala (Kalah) — Rules (canonical reference)

"Mancala" is a family of hundreds of sowing games. We implement **Kalah**, the
standard Western ruleset people mean when they say mancala — Kalah(6,4).
This file is what the engine implements.

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalah
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mancala

## Variant chosen

Kalah(6,4) with the **standard capture rule** (capture only when the opposite
pit is non-empty). We skip the "empty capture" and "seed on" variants, both
noted on Wikipedia. Two players, hotseat.

## Board & setup

Two rows of 6 pits (houses), one store (kalah) per player at their right end.
4 seeds in each pit, 48 total. Stores start empty. South owns the bottom row
and the right store; North owns the top row and the left store.

## Turn

Pick one of your own non-empty pits. Lift all its seeds and sow them one per
pit counter-clockwise: through your own pits, into **your own store**, then
through the opponent's pits — **skipping the opponent's store** — and around
again if seeds remain.

- **Free turn**: if the last seed lands in your own store, move again.
- **Capture**: if the last seed lands in an **empty pit you own** and the
  opposite pit holds seeds, both that seed and all seeds opposite go to your
  store. Turn passes.
- Otherwise the turn passes.

## Game end

The moment either player's six pits are all empty, the game ends: the other
player sweeps all seeds remaining on their own side into their store. Most
seeds in store wins; 24–24 is a draw.