Overview

Alemungula is a traditional mancala game played by the Wetawit people in Ethiopia, around the towns of Asosa and Beni Sangul near the Sudan border. Played mainly by youngsters and sometimes by adults at leisure, it uses a 2x5 board (10 pits). Unlike many mancala variants, singletons (pits with only one seed) may be moved, creating additional strategic challenges. Players sow seeds and capture from the opponent’s side when specific counts are achieved.

Components

• Wooden board with 2 rows of 5 pits (called “ful alemungula”)
• Seeds or stones (typically 4 per pit, 40 total)
• The board is called “tisiya alemungula” (“alemungula wood”)

Setup

1. Place the board between the two players, each player sitting behind one row of 5 pits.
2. Place 4 seeds in each of the 10 pits (40 seeds total).

Turn Structure

Players alternate turns. On each turn, a player picks up all the seeds from one pit on their side and sows them.

Actions

Sowing

1. Choose any pit on your side that contains seeds (singletons may be moved, unlike in some mancala variants).
2. Pick up all seeds from that pit.
3. Sow one seed at a time into consecutive pits, moving counterclockwise (or in the established direction of play) around the board.

Capturing

After sowing, if the last seed lands in one of the opponent’s pits and brings the count in that pit to exactly 2 or 4, those seeds are captured and removed from the board.

Additionally, if one or more of the opponent’s pits immediately preceding the capture pit (along the line of play) have also been increased to exactly 2 or 4 seeds, those pits are also captured in sequence. This chain capture continues backward along the line of play until a pit is encountered that does not contain 2 or 4 seeds.

Relay Sowing (if applicable)

If the last seed lands in a non-empty pit on the sowing player’s own side (and no capture occurs), the player picks up all seeds from that pit and continues sowing. This relay continues until the last seed lands in an empty pit or a capture is made.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when one player has no legal move (no seeds remain on their side). When this happens, each player captures all seeds remaining on their own side.

The player who has captured the greater total number of seeds wins. If both players captured the same number, the game is a draw.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Singletons can be moved: This is a key difference from many mancala games and increases the number of available moves.
• Capture values are 2 and 4 only — not other even numbers.
• Chain captures proceed backward from the final pit along the sowing direction.
• No capture from own side: Captures only occur when the last seed lands on the opponent’s side.
• The game may be played in a series of rounds, with the loser setting up first in the next round.

Player Reference

Turn: Pick up seeds from one of your pits → Sow one per pit → Capture if last seed makes 2 or 4 on opponent’s side

Capture Rule: Last seed in opponent’s pit = 2 or 4 → captured. Chain backward if adjacent pits also = 2 or 4.

End: No legal move → each player takes remaining seeds on own side → most seeds wins.

Key Difference from other mancala: Singletons may be moved.