Pallanguzhi – Traditional Tamil Mancala Game Online
Play Pallanguzhi, the Tamil 14-pit seed game, against the computer or a friend — sow anticlockwise, capture seeds and win the pasu.
How to play
- 1
The board has 2 rows of 7 pits with 5 seeds in each pit (70 seeds). The bottom row is yours; the top row belongs to your opponent.
- 2
On your turn, tap a pit on your side that has seeds. All its seeds are picked up and sown one by one, anticlockwise, into the following pits — on both sides of the board.
- 3
When the last seed drops, pick up the seeds in the next pit and keep sowing. Pasu: whenever a pit reaches exactly 4 seeds during sowing, the owner of that pit takes those 4 seeds.
- 4
If the pit after your last seed is empty, you capture all the seeds in the pit just beyond it and your turn ends. If both of those pits are empty, your turn simply ends.
- 5
The round ends when the player whose turn it is has no seeds on their side. Each player then keeps the seeds left on their own side. Most seeds wins.
Tips
- Look for moves where the last seed lands just before an empty pit — the pit after it is your prize.
- Pits holding 3 seeds are dangerous: one more seed makes a pasu for their owner.
- Keeping seeds on your side matters at the end, because you keep them when the round finishes.
- On Hard the computer looks several moves ahead, so try to leave it no easy captures.
About this game
Pallanguzhi (பல்லாங்குழி) is the traditional mancala game of Tamil Nadu, played for generations on a wooden board with 14 pits and handfuls of cowrie shells or tamarind seeds. Grandmothers taught it to children during festivals and summer holidays because it builds counting, planning and patience.
This version follows a popular Tamil Nadu variant with 5 seeds per pit, anticlockwise sowing, continuous sowing, captures across an empty pit and the pasu rule. Play against the computer on Easy or Hard, or with a friend on the same phone. The seeds move one by one so you can follow every move, and you can undo a move when playing the computer.
Free to play · no sign-up · no ads · your best scores are saved only on this device.
Questions
What are the Pallanguzhi rules used here?
This game uses a common Tamil Nadu variant: 14 pits, 5 seeds each, anticlockwise sowing, continuous sowing from the next pit, capture of the pit beyond an empty pit, and the pasu rule (a pit that reaches 4 seeds is taken by its owner). It plays one round; families often play several rounds and close the pits a player cannot refill.
Why are there so many versions of Pallanguzhi?
Pallanguzhi is a folk game played across South India, so rules change from village to village — some use 6 or 12 seeds per pit, some skip the pasu rule, and some let the player continue after a capture. All of them follow the same idea of sowing and capturing seeds.
What is pasu in Pallanguzhi?
Pasu (cow) is the name for a pit that collects exactly 4 seeds during sowing. In this game those 4 seeds immediately go to the player who owns that pit, even if it was the other player who sowed the seed.
Can two people play on one phone?
Yes. Choose “2 players” and pass the phone after each turn. The bottom row is Player 1 and the top row is Player 2.
What were the seeds traditionally?
Families used cowrie shells, tamarind seeds or small pebbles on a wooden board, often carved in the shape of a fish or a long box. This game draws shells and seeds on a wooden board.
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