Wari is an ancient game, and is classified as belonging to a family of games called Mancala. Wari was played over 3000 years ago in Ancient Egypt. Mancala has its origins in Africa and was played as far back as 7,000 BC. It is believed to be the first ever board game.

How to play the game: Wari

The first player picks up all of the stones from one of the squares on their side of the board and drops them, one to a square, starting in the next square and moving anticlockwise around the board.

If the last stone is dropped on the opponent’s side and leaves a total of two or three stones in a square, then those stones are captured. Moving clockwise, if the next square also meets these conditions, then these stones are captured as well. This continues while the squares are on your opponent’s side of the board and have 2 or 3 stones in them.

The play alternates between the players regardless of whether any stones are captured.
The object of the game is to be the first player to capture more than half of the 48 stones.

Click here for a more detailed description of the rules.

Click here for game instructions, or just click on the board and follow the on-screen messages

Detailed Wari Rules

A player must select non-empty squares on their own side.

After selecting a square, the player picks up all of the stones in that square and drops one stone per square going around the board counter clockwise, skipping the initial square selected if looping around the entire board.

If the last stone lands in an opponent's square, and the total number of stones in that square is now 2 or 3, the current player captures those stones.

If the next square (clockwise) is on the opponent's side, and also has 2 or 3 stones, these are captured as well. Keep repeating this going clockwise until you reach a square that does not have 2 or 3 stones. The turn is now over.

The game is over if, at the beginning of their turn, a player has no more stones on their side.

A player cannot make a move that will leave their opponent's side empty when that player has another move they can make. This means that you cannot capture ALL of your opponent's stones, nor can you leave your opponent's squares empty if there is a move that will place some stones onto your opponent's side.

If neither player can make a valid move then the game is drawn.

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How to use the game

Click on the game to activate it.

Examine the board and decide which square to move from. Click on the square to select it.

If a valid move can by played from that square, a message will be displayed identifying the square and the number of stones it contains.

If the square selected is invalid, then a warning message will appear.

When a valid square has been selected you have the opportunity to either play that move by pressing the "Yes" button, or choosing another square by clicking the "No" button.

After a move has been made, the game will wait while you analyse the result of your move. Pressing the "Yes" button will allow the computer to make its own play.

The game is over if, at the beginning of their turn, a player has no more stones on their side.

A player cannot make a move that will leave their opponent's side empty when that player has another move they can make. This means that you cannot capture ALL of your opponent's stones, nor can you leave your opponent's squares empty if there is a move that will place some stones onto your opponent's side.

A player may only pass if they can't make a valid move.

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