Balance Mancala

The goal: claim the most ground

Wall off an area. If the only pieces inside are yours, that area counts as your territory. The game scores once every piece is walled in, and the most squares wins.

Opening: put your pieces on the board

2 players: 4 pieces each. Two start on the board; you place the other two in the order red, blue, blue, red. 3 players: 2 pieces each, and you place all of them. Grey dots show where you can place.

Moving: 0 to 2 squares

Pick one of your pieces and move it up, down, left or right, 0 to 2 squares. Two squares can go straight or turn a corner. Grey dots show where you can reach. Moving 0 squares is allowed, but a piece that cannot move at all cannot build a wall where it stands.

Walls: build one after every move

Once the piece has finished moving, build a wall on one of the four sides of the square it is on. You cannot skip this. The short faded bars are the four places a wall can go.

Walls block everyone

A wall works against every player, including whoever built it. The wall that closes off your territory can also block your own way out. The edge of the board counts as a wall.

Territory: only your pieces inside

An area fully enclosed by walls counts as yours if the only pieces inside are yours. If it is empty, or holds pieces from more than one player, it is neutral and scores for nobody. Exception: if pieces from different players are shut in together and none of them can move, each piece scores the square it stands on.

Breaking a wall: 3-player games only

3 players: each player may break one wall, once per game. The wall has to be next to one of your pieces, and that piece can keep moving afterwards. The hammer marks a wall you can break. 2 players: this rule does not apply.

Ending and scoring

The game ends once every piece is enclosed in an area. Whoever holds the most squares wins; equal scores share the win.

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