Mancala Ukoo

The Play Store sells almost the same game everywhere: Kalah, a 1955 simplification – under the name of the whole family.

Mancala has more than 800 documented variants. Oware, Bao, Omweso and Congkak are not versions of Kalah. They are games of their own, with their own rules.

Mancala Ukoo presents them under their real names.

RULES ARE DOCUMENTED, NOT SMOOTHED OVER
For every variant, the app states which tradition it follows and where it comes from. Oware follows the Abapa tournament rules – including the duty to feed: if your opponent can no longer move, you must give them seeds. You win by gathering, never by starving them out. Where traditions disagree, we tell you which one you are playing.

NO ADS. NO SUBSCRIPTION. NO SHOP.
No banners, no videos, no energy, no chests.

NO DATA COLLECTION
The app collects no data and has no user account. It uses internet access only for purchases through Google Play – outside of a purchase, it transmits nothing. What you play stays on your device.

BUILT FOR BEGINNERS
A five-step introduction takes you through your first game from scratch – watch first, then make your own moves. Plus a practice board for a game that takes just a few minutes.

AGAINST THE COMPUTER OR TWO PLAYERS
Three difficulty levels, or two players on one device. No online play: there is nobody at the other end, and we do not pretend otherwise.

A PATH THAT ASKS FOR NOTHING
“Your path” collects one seed for every variant you beat on a computer level – thirty-three across all eleven games. The seeds grow into a wooden disc with annual rings, and the rings into a rank: Seed, Sprout, Seedling, Shrub, Tree, Baobab. No streak, no reminder, nothing expires – skip a month and you lose nothing.

ONE POSITION A DAY
A fresh task every day: one position, one best move – the same for everyone. It alternates between Kalah and Oware, so it needs no purchase. No streak here either: miss a day and you have missed nothing.

SEEDS YOU CAN COUNT
Stones never overlap – how many lie in a pit is the most important information in the game, and it has to stay readable.

ELEVEN GAMES OF THE FAMILY
Free: Kalah (USA) and Oware (Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire).
With a single one-time purchase: Ayoayo (Nigeria), Bao and Bao la kujifunza (Swahili coast), Omweso (Uganda), Congkak (Malaysia, Indonesia), Sungka (Philippines), Dakon (Java), Endodoi (Kenya, Tanzania) and Igisoro (Rwanda, Burundi).

Recent changes:
Maintenance release – the game itself is unchanged.

• Purchases are now reconciled with the store both ways: after a reinstall or on a new device, “Buy” restores your purchase – and if a purchase is refunded, the app locks again.
• Settings now show which version you are running.
• Android and iPhone share the same code: what we fix once is fixed on both sides.