SUNGKA | LOODENS

How to play SUNGKA

Sungka is the most difficult and dynamic variant of the “holes and seeds” family of games. We recommend that you first learn to play Mancala or Oware-Abapa.

Set up

Players

Sungka is a 1 vs. 1 game, so two players are required.

What you need to play

The game is played with a special board on which there are holes (or cups) through which the game pieces move.

The number of small holes and pieces can vary depending on the board you have.. The most common is to play with 14 small holes and 7 pieces per hole, that’s 98 pieces.

But if we have a Mancala board we can also play with it.

“Larong Sungka” by ejsabandal  李忠仁 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Getting to Know the Sungka Board

Each player is associated with one of the small hole groups. The large hole to the right of each player will be his or her storehouse or point hole.

Hole zones belonging to each player:

Store or hole of points of each of the players:

Initial position of the pieces

All the pieces are equally distributed among all the small holes. If playing with 98 pieces and 7 holes per player, there will be 7 pieces left in each of the small holes.

Movement of the pieces

During the game of Sungka the pieces will circulate clockwise and will gradually fall into the stores, giving points to each player.

Rounds and turns

A game of Sungka is divided into several rounds. In each round players take turns playing, except for the first turn of each round, when both players play at the same time!

For each round:

The first turn is played simultaneously by both players.
In the following turns the players play alternately.

Goal of the game

How to win a game of SUNGKA

The player with the most pieces in his storehouse at the end of the game wins.

Rules of SUNGKA: playing a game.

ROUND 1 – FIRST TURN SIMULTANEOUS

The player with the most pieces in his storehouse at the end of the game wins.

Each player simultaneously chooses one of the holes on his side that is not empty. He takes the pieces and leaves them one by one, as if he were sowing, in a clockwise direction (to the left) from the next hole and passing through all the holes on the board until there are no pieces left in his hand.

If he passes by your warehouse, he also leaves a piece there, adding a point. If it passes through the other player’s warehouse, it is skipped.

So, what happens next? It all depends on where that last piece lands:

CASE 1 – THE LAST PIECE FALLS INTO A HOLE WITH PIECES

If the last piece falls into a small hole containing pieces – no matter which player it is – the player will take all the pieces from that hole, including the one he has left, and continue seeding one at a time from the next hole clockwise. And if it falls into another small non-empty hole… well, the same thing. And again, and again… until when? Until Case 2, 3 or 4 occurs.

CASE 2 – THE LAST PIECE FALLS INTO YOUR STOREHOUSE

If the last piece falls in the player’s own store, the player takes the pieces from any of his holes and continues “seeding”. As if starting a new turn.

CASE 3 – THE LAST PIECE FALLS INTO AN EMPTY HOLE OF YOUR OWN

If the last piece falls into an empty hole on your side then you will capture that piece and any pieces in the opposite player’s directly opposite hole – the one in front of you – you take those pieces to your store and your turn is over.

CASE 4 – THE LAST PIECE FALLS INTO THE OPPONENT’S EMPTY HOLE

The player finishes his turn and does not make any captures.

No swapping allowed

Once the pieces have been taken from a hole, it is mandatory to play with them. It is not allowed to change the play in the middle of the game.

During this first turn both players have been playing at the same time, which can be both chaotic and fun. Whoever finishes first must wait for the other player to finish as well.

ROUND 1 – FOLLOWING ALTERNATING TURNS

Once the first simultaneous turn is over, they begin to play in turns, starting with the player who has the fewest pieces in his storehouse. The rules are the same.

ROUND 1 – END OF ROUND

The round ends when one of the players can no longer play because he has no pieces on his side.

The other player takes the pieces still left in his holes and captures them, adding them to his store.

Redistribution

This is followed by a redistribution of pieces.

Each player takes the pieces he has in his store and uses them to fill his holes from left to right so that there are 7 pieces in each hole
If all the holes are completed and there are pieces left over, they go to your warehouse.
If there are not enough pieces for the last hole to have all 7 pieces then those last pieces go to the warehouse, both the ones that were in the last hole and the ones still to be distributed. In other words, in each hole there are either 7 pieces or none at all.

Burned holes

Empty holes are removed from the board—they’re called ‘burned’ holes and can’t be used by either player in future rounds

As the game progresses there will be more and more holes burned!

Next rounds

The following rounds are played in the same way as the first round, but now without the burned holes. First turn simultaneous and then alternate turns.

Game over – And the winner is…

When does the game end?

The game ends when one of the players has ALL his holes burned.

The other player takes the pieces still remaining in his holes and captures them, adding them to his point hole.

And the winner is…

The winner is the player who has collected the most pieces in their storehouse.

Sungka Playing Tips

Tip 1 – Burned holes

In the first games, when you are learning, you can use some object to mark the burned holes.

When both players know the game well, burned holes are not marked and if any player mistakenly leaves a seed, the other player captures that seed and takes it to his storehouse.

Practice

Sungka games go faster and feel easier when you play with fewer pieces. We recommend starting with 4 or 5 pieces per hole in the first games, especially for children.

Limiting time per turn

If a player takes too long to make a move, it’s a good idea to agree on a time limit per turn. If you overshoot that time, you lose your turn.

Example of a game

In this video you will see a live game and explanations of two girls from the Philippines, a country where Sungka is a game with a great tradition.

How to create a home-made version of Sungka

The pieces

You can use just about any small objects as game pieces—pebbles, marbles, chickpeas, beans, coins, buttons, even tiny seashells!

Just make sure that they are easy to handle, that they fit at least 10 pieces in the same hole and that you need a lot of pieces!

Small holes

Coffee cups, egg cups, small bowls… can be used as small holes.

You can also draw some circles on a large piece of paper and even, if you are in the street, dig the holes in the sand.

The stores

A bowl, a glass, a plate, a small box… can be used for storage. The power of imagination!

Buying guide and tips

For a better playing experience we recommend purchasing a Mancala board.

Especially if you have already tried the game, liked it, and know that you will play it many times.

Aspects to be considered

There is no such thing as “the best Mancala” because not everyone has the same needs, nor the same expectations, nor will we all use the game in the same way.

Everyone must find “their best product” taking into account these variables:

1 – Playing comfort

The size of the holes and the size of the pieces must be coherent and proportional to each other so that taking the pieces when a hole is full does not become an odyssey, the pieces fall out or end up in other holes. For us it is the most important aspect to take into account because the playing experience will be uncomfortable if only 5 or 6 pieces fit in a hole. Please keep this in mind.

2 – Resistance and quality of materials

The Mancala board can be made of wood or plastic of different qualities. And there is even more variety when we talk about the pieces that can be made of wood, glass, stone, minerals, plastic…

Depending on the use we are going to give to the game – it will not be the same to play occasionally once or twice a year than to play regularly every week – we will have to acquire a product that is presumed to be more or less resistant to use.

On the other hand, we will have to evaluate if a simple plastic mancala is enough for us or if we want one made of noble wood that is also carved and decorated as if it were the throne of a king because in that sense there are for all tastes and for all pockets.

3 – Space it takes up

The larger the Mancala board, the more comfortable it is to play. But do not forget that it will have to be stored somewhere afterwards. We must take into account the storage space available when choosing a larger or smaller model, folding or non-folding.

4 – Portability

If we plan to take our Mancala out for a walk, perhaps to play at a family member’s house, or to challenge a friend in a bar, or as a travel companion to liven up the waiting hours at an airport, we will have to consider buying a Mancala that is light and easily transportable.

Where to buy a Mancala

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You will find Mancalas in specialized board game stores, although the best prices and discounts are usually on Amazon.

We recommend the best ones below:

Simple and portable mancala

This is the “classic” Mancala, the one that never fails. A wooden board that folds shut like a hinged box: you store the pieces inside and take it wherever you want, just as good at home as tucked into a suitcase.

Mancala Zuniplex

Folding wooden board with hinge: closes like a box and stores the pieces inside.
Includes 48 coloured pieces.

🇺🇸Amazon USCheck price on amazon.com

🇬🇧Amazon UKCheck price on amazon.co.uk

🇨🇦Amazon CACheck price on amazon.ca

Mancala DE LUXE

It is a board made from a single piece of solid wood (44 cm), carved with motifs that recall the game’s origins and —what we like most— with real quartz stones, no plastic or resin: one of the few that come with natural stone. That said, it is not the most portable: it weighs a fair bit and doesn’t fold, so think of it more as the pretty Mancala for the shelf than a travel companion. And note, it is rather compact: the stones are small (about 10 mm), comfortable but nothing huge.