Mankala uses an elongated board with fourteen pits (see below):
 
The six pits at the bottom of the board are your pits (assuming that you are playing against the computer). The longer pit on the right is your home bin. The game starts with three, four, or five stones in each pit other than the two home bins. The game ends only when either your six bins or your opponent's six bins are empty.
THE PLAY
On your turn, you must choose a bin from your six bins (not your home bin) to "empty". You may only select a bin with stones in it. The stones from the bin will then be distributed in a counter-clockwise direction. Your opponent's home bin will always be skipped over, and your home bin will be skipped whenever your opponent disributes stones.
A red stone in the bottom left corner of the board signifies that it is your turn, while a red stone in the top right corner of the board means that it is your opponent's turn.
STEALING
If the last stone that you place ends up in an empty bin on your side of the board, you get to steal all of your opponent's pieces that are in the bin directly opposite your bin.
FREE TURN
You get a free turn if the last stone you place ends up in your home bin. This option can be turned on and off in the Preferences dialog.
ENDING THE GAME
When your opponent's six bins or your six bins are all empty, the game ends. Your score is computed by adding up thenumber of stones in your home bin and the number of stones in each of your other pits. Thus, it is not necessarily best to end the game as soon as you can.
