How to Play Pallanguzhi
Pallanguzhi is a two-player Tamil mancala game played with 14 pits and a handful of seeds. The rules fit on a postcard, but the game rewards careful counting. Here is everything you need to play your first game in five minutes.
What is Pallanguzhi?பல்லாங்குழி என்றால் என்ன?
Pallanguzhi (Tamil: பல்லாங்குழி, also spelled pallankuzhi, pallanguli or pallankuli) is a traditional South Indian board game from Tamil Nadu. It belongs to the mancala family of “count and capture” games, where players move seeds around a board of pits and try to collect more seeds than their opponent. The name is usually explained as pala (many) + kuzhi (pit): the game of many pits.
You need two players, a board with two rows of seven pits, and 70 seeds (5 per pit). Traditional players use red manjadi seeds, tamarind seeds (puliyankottai) or cowrie shells (sozhi).
1. Setting up the boardபலகையை அமைத்தல்
Place the board between the two players. Each player owns the row of seven pits nearest to them. Put 5 seeds in every pit, 70 in total. Captured seeds are kept in a pile beside you, or in the two large store pits at the ends if your board has them.
2. Sowing: how a move worksவிதைத்தல்
On your turn, choose any non-empty pit on your own row and scoop up all of its seeds. Then drop them one at a time into the following pits, moving anticlockwise: left to right along your row, then right to left along your opponent’s row, and back round to yours.
Tip: before you pick a pit, count where your last seed will land. That landing spot decides everything that happens next.
3. Keep going: the relayதொடர்ந்து ஆடுதல்
When your last seed drops, look at the very next pit. If it contains seeds, scoop all of them up and keep sowing from the pit after it. This can chain several times, and a single turn can wind all the way around the board. It is the most exciting part of the game.
4. Capturing seedsகைப்பற்றுதல்
If the pit right after your last seed is empty, your sowing stops. You then capture every seed in the pit beyond the empty one and add them to your store. Your turn is over.
If both the next pit and the one after it are empty, you capture nothing and your turn simply ends.
5. Pasu: the cow ruleபசு
While you are sowing, if any pit reaches exactly four seeds, those four are a pasu (பசு, “cow”). They are removed straight away and go to the player who owns that row, even if it’s your opponent’s row and your move. So a careless sow can hand your opponent free seeds.
6. Ending the game and scoringஆட்டம் முடிவு
The round ends when it’s a player’s turn and their row is completely empty. Any seeds still on the board go to the owner of the row they sit on. Count your store: whoever has more than 35 of the 70 seeds wins. 35 each is a draw.
Common variationsவேறுபாடுகள்
Pallanguzhi is a household game, so rules drift from family to family. The most common differences:
- Seeds per pit: some families start with 6 or even 12 seeds per pit for longer games.
- Multiple rounds: in the traditional long game, players refill their pits from their winnings at the start of each round. A player who can’t fill every pit leaves the short ones out of play (often called “burnt” pits), and the game continues until one player can’t fill a single pit.
- Who gets the pasu: most players give it to the row’s owner; some give it to the player who is sowing.
- Starting pit: some players begin sowing in the pit they emptied rather than the next one.
Our online Pallanguzhi game uses the single-round rules on this page. Read about the game’s names in other languages in Pallankuzhi, Ali Guli Mane, Kuzhipara: every name for Pallanguzhi.
Frequently asked questions
How many seeds do you need for Pallanguzhi?
70 seeds: 5 in each of the 14 pits. Some families play with 6 or 12 per pit for a longer game.
How many players can play Pallanguzhi?
Pallanguzhi is a two-player game. Each player owns the row of seven pits nearest to them.
What is pasu in Pallanguzhi?
Pasu (பசு, “cow”) is the rule that whenever a pit reaches exactly four seeds during sowing, those four seeds go immediately to the owner of that row.
Which direction do you sow in Pallanguzhi?
Anticlockwise: left to right along your own row, then right to left along your opponent’s row.
How do you win Pallanguzhi?
Collect more seeds than your opponent. With 70 seeds, more than 35 wins. The round ends when the player to move has no seeds on their row.
Is Pallanguzhi the same as mancala?
Pallanguzhi is a member of the mancala family, like Oware and Kalah, but it has its own rules, including relay sowing, capturing past an empty pit and the pasu rule.
Can I play Pallanguzhi online?
Yes. You can play Pallanguzhi online for free at pallanguzhi.com against Sheila Ammachi, an AI grandmother with three difficulty levels and a built-in interactive tutorial.