How to Play Sungka

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Sungka is a two-player mancala game played on a carved wooden board with two rows of seven small holes and a large collecting pit, called a ulo (head), at each end. Players sow cowrie shells or small stones around the board, racing to capture the majority into their own store. The game is straightforward to learn but rewards careful planning, and a single session can shift dramatically in the final few moves.

It is typically played on a low table or on the floor, making it a relaxed, sociable game suited to kitchen tables as much as community gatherings. Because the board and pieces are compact and durable, it travels well and needs no batteries, scorecards, or additional equipment.

A little history

Sungka is widely documented as a traditional game of the Philippines and is particularly associated with Filipino culture, where it has been played for centuries. It belongs to the large mancala family of count-and-capture games found across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, though the precise origins of Sungka itself and how it reached the Philippine archipelago are unclear. Historical records confirm it was already an established pastime when Spanish colonial accounts described Filipino life in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Traditionally, the board was carved from a single piece of hardwood, and shells or pebbles served as the playing pieces.

Setting up

1. Place the board lengthways between the two players so each player faces a row of 7 holes and has a large store (ulo) to their right.
2. Place 7 shells into each of the 14 small holes. Leave both stores empty.
3. Decide who goes first. Traditionally both players begin simultaneously on the opening move only (see How to Play, step 1). After that, turns alternate.

How to play

1. OPENING MOVE (simultaneous): Both players pick up all the shells from any one hole on their own side at the same moment and begin sowing. This is the only move in the game that happens simultaneously.
2. SOWING: Hold all the shells from your chosen hole. Moving anticlockwise, drop one shell into each successive hole. You sow into your own holes, into your own store (ulo) when you reach it, and into your opponent's holes. You skip your opponent's store entirely.
3. After the simultaneous opening, both players freeze when one player runs out of shells to sow. The player who finishes first waits. The other player completes their sowing before normal alternating play begins.
4. CONTINUING YOUR TURN: If the last shell you sow lands in your own store, you take another turn immediately.
5. If the last shell lands in a hole on your own side that already contains shells, pick up all the shells in that hole (including the one you just dropped) and continue sowing from there. This is called a relay.
6. If the last shell lands in an empty hole on your own side, your turn ends. You do not capture any shells from the opposite hole (unlike some other mancala variants).
7. If the last shell lands in any hole on your opponent's side, your turn ends.
8. ENDING THE GAME: When a player has no shells in any of their 7 holes at the start of their turn, they pass. If the opponent can still move, they continue taking turns, sowing shells into their own side only (any shells that would fall on the empty side are added to the opponent's store instead). Play ends when neither player can move.
9. Each player counts the shells in their store. The player with more shells wins.

Winning and scoring

The game ends when both players are unable to move, meaning neither has shells left in their own seven holes. Each player counts all the shells in their store (ulo). There are 98 shells in total, so 49 each is a draw. The player with 50 or more shells is the winner. In a series of games, the winner of each round traditionally places 7 shells into each of their holes for the next round; any shortfall means they cannot fill all their holes, reducing their starting position, which is itself a reflection of their cumulative score.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the simultaneous opening. If players cannot agree on when to freeze, a straightforward house rule is to count to three together and lift simultaneously, then sow at your own pace until one player places their last shell, at which point both stop and the remaining player finishes their sow before alternating play begins. A second frequent dispute involves relay chains: a relay continues for as long as each final shell lands in a non-empty hole on your own side, and there is no limit to how long a chain can run. Players sometimes forget to skip the opponent's store; any shell accidentally dropped there should be removed and placed in the correct next hole before play continues.

When one player's side is empty and the other continues playing, shells that would land on the empty side go directly into that side's store. This ruling is standard and prevents the active player from endlessly circling an empty board. Count carefully at this stage, as errors here affect the final tally.

How to win more often

• Count before you commit: before picking up a hole, trace exactly where the last shell will land. A relay or a free extra turn can completely change the momentum of the game.
• Prioritise moves that land your last shell in your store. Chaining multiple free turns in a row is the fastest way to pull ahead.
• Keep your holes reasonably stocked rather than draining them all to one end. An empty side ends your active play and hands the initiative to your opponent.
• Deny your opponent relays: if you can choose between two otherwise equal moves, prefer the one that leaves fewer relay opportunities on their side.
• In the late game, count the total shells remaining on your side and plan the sequence of moves that will cycle the most shells through your store before your side empties.

Variations

Capture on landing in empty hole

In some regional versions, when your last shell lands in an empty hole on your own side, you capture all the shells in the directly opposite hole on your opponent's side and place them in your store. This single rule change creates far more aggressive mid-game tactics and is worth agreeing before play begins.

Nine-hole Sungka

Some boards are made with nine holes per side rather than seven, with 9 shells in each hole at the start (162 shells total). The rules are identical; the longer board simply extends playing time and increases the scope for long relay chains. This format is sometimes preferred by experienced players who find the seven-hole game resolves too quickly.

Fixed starting hole

Rather than allowing each player to choose any hole on the opening move, this version requires both players to begin from the hole closest to their own store. It removes the opening-choice calculation entirely and is a useful simplification when playing with younger children.

Scoring series

Instead of a single game, players agree on a fixed number of rounds (commonly five or seven). At the end of each round, each player records how many shells they hold above 49 (the halfway point). After all rounds, the player with the higher cumulative surplus wins the series. This format rewards consistent play over a lucky single game.

Sungka: frequently asked questions