Togyz Kumalak — "nine stones" in Kazakh, played in Kyrgyzstan as Toguz Korgool — is the great mancala game of the Central Asian steppe, free to play online here against the computer with no download and no sign-up. Each player has nine holes of nine stones and a kazan for captures. Pick one of your holes and its stones are sown counter-clockwise, starting with the hole you emptied. If the last stone lands on your opponent's side and leaves an even number there, you take them all. Leave exactly three instead and that hole becomes your tuzdyk: every stone that falls into it for the rest of the game, from either player, is yours. Each player gets only one, never in the ninth hole and never opposite the other's. First to 82 of the 162 stones wins. Hover a hole to see where its last stone lands and what it would capture, ask the strongest player for a hint, take moves back, and climb five computer opponents whose strength was measured over hundreds of games rather than guessed.
How to play Togyz Kumalak
- The board has two rows of nine holes with nine stones in each, 162 in all. Your holes are the near row and the computer's are the far row; the two long kazans between the rows hold what each of you captures. On an upright phone the board stands on end, your holes down the left.
- On your turn, tap one of your holes that has stones in it. All of its stones are picked up and sown one per hole, counter-clockwise — and the first stone goes back into the hole you just emptied. A hole with a single stone simply moves it on to the next hole.
- Sowing runs along your row to the right, then back along the computer's row to the left, and right round the board as many times as the stones last.
- If your last stone lands in one of the computer's holes and leaves an even number of stones there — two, four, ten, anything even — you capture every stone in that hole.
- If your last stone leaves exactly three in one of the computer's holes, you take the three and the hole becomes your tuzdyk, marked on the board. From then on every stone sown into it, by you or by the computer, goes straight to your kazan.
- Each player may make only one tuzdyk a game. It can never be the opponent's ninth hole, and never the hole with the same number as the tuzdyk your opponent already owns. A move that would break one of these limits is still allowed; it just makes no tuzdyk.
- The first player to collect 82 of the 162 stones wins; 81 each is a draw. If the player to move has no stones left on their side, the game ends and the stones still on the board go to the side they lie on. If the same position comes round a third time, the game stops the same way.
Tips
- Hover over or tab to one of your holes before you play: the hole where its last stone will land is ringed, and it glows blue if the move captures.
- Count with the starting hole included. A hole of nine stones ends eight holes along, not nine — which is why almost every opening move captures ten.
- Your opponent's holes holding an odd number are targets: one more stone makes them even. Holes holding two are tuzdyk chances, since your last stone would make them three.
- Make your tuzdyk early if you can. It collects a stone every time either player sows past it, so one made in the opening keeps paying for the whole game.
- Your opponent's first hole makes a strong tuzdyk: every one of your sowings that crosses onto their side drops its first stone there. Their ninth hole can never be one.
- Build up a big hole on your side. Twenty or more stones lap the whole board, change every count on the far side at once, and can set up a capture your opponent cannot see coming.
- Late in the game keep stones on your own side: if your opponent runs out of moves, every stone in your holes counts for you.
- Start against the Novice to learn how captures look, then use Hint against stronger players — it asks the Master what it would play, and tells you when a position is already won or lost by force.
FAQ
Is Togyz Kumalak free to play online?
Yes. This Togyz Kumalak game is free in your browser with no download and no account. Your unlocked opponents and an unfinished game are kept in your own browser, so you can close the tab and carry on later.
Can I play Togyz Kumalak on my phone?
Yes. Tap a hole to sow it, exactly as with a mouse. On an upright phone the board stands on end — your nine holes down the left, the computer's up the right, the kazans between — so every hole stays large enough to tap.
Is Togyz Kumalak the same game as Toguz Korgool?
Yes. Togyz kumalak is the Kazakh name and toguz korgool the Kyrgyz name for the same game; both count the nine stones each hole starts with. This version follows the rules as Wikipedia's Toguz korgool article gives them.
What is a tuzdyk?
A hole on your opponent's side that becomes yours for the rest of the game. You make one when your last stone leaves exactly three stones in an opposing hole: you take the three, and every stone that later falls into that hole, from either player's sowing, goes to your kazan. Each player gets one per game; it cannot be the opponent's ninth hole or the hole numbered like the opponent's own tuzdyk.
How is Togyz Kumalak different from Mancala and Oware?
Kalah, the version on this site's Mancala page, has six small houses a side, stores you sow into, extra turns and captures from your own empty houses. Oware has six houses a side and captures holes made two or three, chaining backwards. Togyz Kumalak is bigger — nine holes of nine stones, 162 in all — sows starting in the hole you emptied, captures any hole left on an even count, and adds the tuzdyk, a hole that keeps paying its owner all game.
How do you win at Togyz Kumalak?
Collect 82 of the 162 stones; 81 each is a draw. The game also ends when the player to move has no stones on their side, and then the stones left on the board go to whoever's side they lie on. Most games are won by an early tuzdyk and by leaving your opponent's holes on counts your sowing can turn even.
How strong is the computer?
There are five opponents, and their strength was measured in 400 computer-against-computer games per pairing, with the seats swapped, rather than guessed. The Novice scores 40% against a player who simply takes the biggest capture on offer, so a beginner can beat it. Each later opponent scores at least 68% against the one before it, and the Master, which looks six moves ahead, wins 67% of its games against the Expert. Beat an opponent to unlock the next.
Who moves first?
You and the computer take turns: if you opened the last game, the computer opens the next. That matters, because moving first is a real advantage in Togyz Kumalak. With the Expert playing both sides of 200 games, the side that moved first won 120 and the side that moved second won 74, with 6 draws.