Oware

About this game

Oware is the classic seed-sowing game of Ghana and West Africa, part of the mancala family. Twelve pits, forty-eight seeds: lift a pit, sow seeds round the board, and capture pits that end with two or three. Learn in eight short hands-on lessons, watch free Auto Play play a whole game at your own pace, play the computer at five levels from Easy to Grandmaster, pass the phone to a friend, and solve a new capture puzzle every day. Hand-carved wood and glossy seed art, large text and reduced motion. Full rules are in the in-app Rules page. No ads, works offline.

How to play

1. New here? Eight short lessons teach every move, or watch free Auto Play play a whole game at your own pace.
2. TAP one of your pits on the bottom row to sow it. Glowing pits are the ones you can play.
3. Seeds go one per pit, counter-clockwise: along your row, then back along your opponent's row.
4. If your last seed makes an opponent pit hold 2 or 3, you capture it, and the pits before it if they also hold 2 or 3.
5. A pit with 12 or more seeds laps the board and skips its own pit.
6. If your opponent has no seeds you must play a move that gives them some.
7. First to capture 25 seeds wins. Undo takes back a move; Hint (3 per game) shows a good move and why.
8. Daily puzzle: TAP the one pit that captures the most seeds. Same puzzle for everyone.