All 38 games
Grouped by family, with where each one comes from and how it's played. Every two-player game has a computer opponent from Easy to Master, and can be played ranked or in tournaments. Open a game for its rules.
Mancala
Sow the seeds, count the pits, capture the rest. The oldest board games on the continent.
Ayò Olopon Nigeria 2 players ~10 min
Sow seeds anticlockwise from one of your six pits; if your last seed makes an opponent's pit hold 2 or 3, you capture it. First to 25 of the 48 seeds wins.
- Each pit starts with 4 seeds. Pick up all the seeds in one of your pits and drop them one by one into the following pits, anticlockwise.
- A lap of 12 or more seeds skips the pit you emptied.
- If your last seed lands in an opponent's pit and makes it 2 or 3, capture it, then keep capturing backwards while their pits hold 2 or 3.
- If your opponent has no seeds, you must play a move that gives them some if you can.
- A move that would capture every seed your opponent has is allowed, but captures nothing.
- First to 25 seeds wins. If a player cannot move, the other takes the seeds left on the board and the higher total wins.
Oware Ghana / W. Africa 2 players ~10 min
Sow seeds anticlockwise from one of your six pits; if your last seed makes an opponent's pit hold 2 or 3, you capture it. First to 25 of the 48 seeds wins.
- Each pit starts with 4 seeds. Pick up all the seeds in one of your pits and drop them one by one into the following pits, anticlockwise.
- A lap of 12 or more seeds skips the pit you emptied.
- If your last seed lands in an opponent's pit and makes it 2 or 3, capture it, then keep capturing backwards while their pits hold 2 or 3.
- If your opponent has no seeds, you must play a move that gives them some if you can.
- You may not play a move that would capture every seed your opponent has, unless every move you have would.
- First to 25 seeds wins. If a player cannot move, the other takes the seeds left on the board and the higher total wins.
Bao East Africa 2 players ~12 min
Sow around your own two rows and relay from full pits. Land your last seed in a front-row pit to capture the opponent's pit opposite. Leave your opponent with no legal move to win.
- Each of your 16 pits starts with 2 seeds. You may only sow a pit holding 2 or more, anticlockwise around your own two rows.
- If your last seed lands in a pit that already had seeds, pick them all up and keep sowing.
- If that last seed lands in your front row and the opponent's pit directly opposite has seeds, you capture them and your move ends.
- A move also ends when your last seed lands in an empty pit.
- A player who has no pit with 2 or more seeds on their turn loses. A very long stretch with no capture is a draw.
Omweso Uganda 2 players ~12 min
Sow around your own two rows and relay from full pits. Land in your front row opposite two full enemy pits to take their seeds and sow them on. Leave your opponent with no legal move to win.
- Each of your 16 pits starts with 2 seeds. You may only sow a pit holding 2 or more, anticlockwise around your own two rows.
- If your last seed lands in a pit that already had seeds, pick them all up and keep sowing.
- If that pit is in your front row and both of the opponent's pits in that column have seeds, capture both and sow the captured seeds on from there.
- Captured seeds are never removed from play. Your move ends when your last seed lands in an empty pit.
- A player who has no pit with 2 or more seeds on their turn loses. A very long stretch with no capture is a draw.
Board
Strategy on a grid: chess and draughts beside Morabaraba, Fanorona and Shax.
Chess Played everywhere 2 players ~15 min
Move your pieces to put the opposing king in check with no way out. Standard chess rules, checked in full by the server.
- White moves first. Each piece moves in its own way, and you may never leave your own king in check.
- Castling, en passant and promotion (to a queen, rook, bishop or knight) are all allowed.
- Checkmate wins the game.
- Stalemate, 50 moves without a capture or pawn move, insufficient material and threefold repetition are draws.
Draughts W. Africa 2 players ~12 min
Move your pieces diagonally forward and jump over your opponent's to capture them. Take or block every enemy piece to win. English draughts on an 8x8 board.
- Each side has 12 pieces on the dark squares. Men move one square diagonally forward.
- Capture by jumping an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square beyond. If you can capture, you must.
- After a jump, keep jumping with the same piece while you can. You may choose which capture to make.
- A man reaching the far row becomes a king and may move and capture backwards. Crowning mid-jump ends the move.
- A player with no legal move loses. 40 moves in a row with no capture or crowning is a draw.
Morabaraba Southern Africa 2 players ~10 min
Place and then move your 12 cows to make mills of three in a row, and shoot an opposing cow with each mill. Reduce your opponent to two cows, or leave them with no move, to win.
- Take turns placing your 12 cows on empty points. Once all are placed, move one cow to a neighbouring empty point along a line.
- Three of your cows in a row along a line, diagonals included, is a mill: remove one opposing cow, in placement or movement.
- Cows in a completed mill cannot be shot unless every opposing cow is in a mill.
- When you are down to 3 cows, you may fly a cow to any empty point.
- You lose when you have fewer than 3 cows or no legal move. 50 moves without a mill is a draw.
Reversi Played everywhere 2 players ~8 min
Place a disc so it traps a straight line of your opponent's discs between it and another of yours, and flip them all. Most discs at the end wins.
- The game starts with four discs in the centre of an 8x8 board.
- Every move must outflank at least one line of enemy discs, in any of the eight directions; every outflanked disc flips.
- If you have no legal placement, you pass.
- The game ends when neither player can move; the player with more discs wins, and equal discs is a draw.
Shax Horn of Africa 2 players ~10 min
Place and then move your pieces to form lines of three and remove an opposing piece with each one. Reduce your opponent below three pieces, or leave them stuck, to win.
- Each side places 9 pieces, one at a time, on the 24-point board. Lines of three made while placing do not capture.
- Once all are placed, move one piece along a line to a neighbouring empty point. There are no diagonals.
- Forming a line of three while moving removes one opposing piece; pieces in a completed line are protected unless all are.
- There is no flying: pieces always move to a neighbouring point.
- You lose when you have fewer than 3 pieces or no legal move. 50 moves without a line of three is a draw.
Achi Ghana 2 players ~4 min
Place your four pieces, then slide them along the lines. The first to get three in a row wins.
- The board has nine points joined by rows, columns and the two diagonals through the centre.
- Take turns placing your 4 pieces on empty points. Three in a row at any time wins at once.
- Once all 8 pieces are down, slide one of yours along a line to the neighbouring empty point.
- A player with no legal move on their turn loses. 60 sliding moves with no winner is a draw.
Seega North Africa 2 players ~10 min
Fill the board two pieces at a time, then slide to trap enemy pieces between two of yours. Capture them all, or leave your opponent with no move, to win.
- Each side places 12 pieces, two per turn, on any square except the centre.
- Then slide one piece one square up, down, left or right into an empty square.
- An enemy piece caught between the piece you moved and another of yours, in a line, is captured. The centre square is safe.
- Capturing earns you another move.
- You lose if you have no pieces left or no legal move. 40 moves without a capture is a draw.
Yoté Senegal / Mali 2 players ~8 min
Drop your pieces onto the board, slide them, and jump enemy pieces to capture. Each capture also lets you remove a second enemy piece. Take all of your opponent's pieces to win.
- Each player starts with 12 pieces in hand. On your turn, drop one onto any empty square, or move one already on the board.
- Pieces slide one square up, down, left or right. There are no diagonal moves.
- Capture by jumping an adjacent enemy piece to the empty square beyond; then remove any one other enemy piece on the board.
- Capturing is optional, and a capture is a single jump.
- You win when your opponent has no pieces left, in hand or on the board. If a player is stuck, their turn is skipped.
- If both players are stuck, the most pieces on the board wins. 80 moves without a capture is a draw.
Fanorona Madagascar 2 players ~10 min
Slide a piece along a line to capture by approach or withdrawal: moving towards an enemy line or away from one removes that whole line. Clear the opponent's pieces to win.
- Each side has 12 pieces on a 5x5 board; only the centre starts empty.
- Move one piece one step along a line to an empty point. Diagonal steps are only possible from points where lines cross diagonally.
- Stepping into a line of enemy pieces captures that unbroken line (approach); stepping away from one captures it (withdrawal).
- If a move could do both, the larger line is taken; a tie takes the approach. One capture per turn.
- If you can capture, you must.
- You lose if you have no pieces or no legal move. 60 moves without a capture is a draw.
Dominoes Pan-African 2 players ~8 min
Match a tile to either open end of the line of play. Draw from the boneyard when you cannot play. The first to play every tile wins.
- Double-six set: each player gets 7 tiles and 14 go to the boneyard. The highest double leads.
- Play a tile whose pips match one of the two open ends of the line.
- If you cannot play, draw from the boneyard until you can; you may not draw while you hold a playable tile.
- You pass only when the boneyard is empty and you still cannot play.
- Play your last tile to win. If both players pass, the lower pip count in hand wins; equal pips is a draw.
- The winner scores the pips left in the loser's hand.
Tic-Tac-Toe Played everywhere 2 players ~2 min
Take turns claiming squares on the three-by-three grid. The first to get three in a row, across, down or diagonally, wins.
- X moves first; players alternate placing one mark on an empty square.
- Three of your marks in a line, across, down or diagonally, wins at once.
- If the grid fills with no line, the game is a draw.
Cards
Whot, and the trick-taking games people deal at every gathering.
Whot Nigeria 2 players ~8 min
Get rid of your cards by matching the shape or number on top of the pile. Whot cards are wild. The first player to empty their hand wins.
- Each player is dealt 5 cards. Play one card that matches the top card's shape or number, or play a Whot (20) and call the next shape.
- 1 (Hold On) and 8 (Suspension): you play again.
- 2 (Pick Two) and 5 (Pick Three): your opponent draws 2 or 3 cards and you play again.
- 14 (General Market): your opponent draws one card and you play again.
- If you cannot or choose not to play, draw one card from the market; that ends your turn.
- The first player to play their last card wins.
Callbreak W. Africa / Asia 4 players ~15 min
Call how many tricks you will win each round, then play to make it. Spades are always trump. Make your call to score it; miss and you lose it. Highest total after five rounds wins.
- Four players, 13 cards each. Before play, every player calls between 1 and 13 tricks.
- Follow the led suit if you can, and play higher than the best card of that suit so far if you can, unless the trick has been trumped.
- If you have none of the led suit, you must play a spade, and beat any spade already played if you can.
- Make your call: score the call plus 0.1 per extra trick. Miss it: lose the call.
- The player with the highest total after 5 rounds wins.
Spades Pan-African 4 players ~15 min
Play in partnerships: bid the tricks you expect to win and take them together. Spades are always trump. The first team to 300 points wins.
- Four players in two teams, partners sitting across. Each player gets 13 cards and bids 0 to 13; a bid of 0 is nil.
- Follow the led suit if you can; if you cannot, play any card. You may not lead spades until they are broken, unless you hold only spades.
- A team that makes its combined bid scores 10 per bid trick plus 1 per extra trick (a bag); falling short loses 10 per bid trick.
- A nil bidder scores 100 for taking no tricks, or loses 100 for taking any.
- Every 10 bags a team collects costs it 100 points.
- The first team to reach 300 wins.
Belote North / Francophone 4 players ~15 min
Play in partnerships with a 32-card deck: name trump, then win tricks holding the high-value cards. Card points and bonuses add up across hands; the first team to 501 wins.
- Four players in two teams, 8 cards each. Before each hand, the player who leads the first trick names trump.
- In trump the order is J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7; in other suits A, 10, K, Q, J, 9, 8, 7.
- Follow suit if you can. If you cannot, you must trump, and must beat a trump already played, unless your partner is winning the trick.
- Each team scores the value of the cards it wins, plus 10 for the last trick.
- Holding the King and Queen of trump and playing both scores 20 (belote-rebelote).
- The first team to reach 501 points wins.
Cassino Pan-African 2 players ~8 min
Play a card to capture table cards of the same rank, or number cards that add up to it; otherwise trail it onto the table. Score for cards, spades, aces and the key cards.
- Four cards go face up on the table, and each player gets 4 cards, dealt again whenever both hands run out.
- A card captures every table card of the same rank. An ace or number card can also take one group of number cards adding up to it.
- Picture cards only capture by rank. If you cannot or choose not to capture, trail the card onto the table.
- When the deck and hands are finished, the last player to capture takes the cards left on the table.
- Scoring: most cards 3, most spades 1, ten of diamonds 2, two of spades 1, each ace 1. A tie for most scores nothing.
- The default game is a single round; the higher score wins.
Solitaire Played everywhere Solo ~8 min
Klondike patience: build the four foundations up from Ace to King in suit, moving cards around seven tableau columns. Get all 52 cards onto the foundations to win.
- Seven columns are dealt with 1 to 7 cards each, the top card face up.
- Build tableau columns down in alternating colours. You can move a face-up card or a whole run between columns.
- Only a King can go into an empty column.
- Turn cards from the stock one at a time. When it runs out, the waste can be turned back into the stock as often as you like.
- You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations. The game ends if you have no moves left.
Race
Dice and a dash home. Ludo, Snakes & Ladders and Backgammon.
Ludo Played everywhere 2 players ~15 min
Roll the die and move one of your four tokens around the track and up your home column. Land on an opponent to send it back to the yard. First to bring all four home wins.
- You need a 6 to bring a token out of the yard onto your start square.
- Landing exactly on an opponent's token sends it back to its yard, except on the safe squares.
- Rolling a 6, capturing, or bringing a token home earns another roll. Three 6s in a row forfeits your turn.
- You must reach home with an exact roll; a move that would overshoot is not allowed.
- If no token can use your roll, the turn passes.
- The first player to get all four tokens home wins.
Snakes & Ladders Played everywhere 2 players ~8 min
Roll the die and choose which of your three tokens to move. Ladders lift you up, snakes drop you down, and landing on an opponent sends them back to the start. Get all three home to win.
- Each player has 3 tokens starting off the board. Roll one die, then pick a token to move that many squares.
- Land on the foot of a ladder to climb it; land on a snake's head to slide down it.
- Landing exactly on an opponent's token sends it back to the start.
- You must reach square 100 with an exact roll. If no token can use the roll, the turn passes.
- The first player with all three tokens on square 100 wins.
Backgammon North Africa 2 players ~15 min
Race your 15 checkers around the board into your home board, then bear them off. Hit lone enemy checkers to send them back. The first to bear off all 15 wins.
- Roll two dice and move checkers by each number. Doubles are played four times.
- You may not land on a point held by two or more enemy checkers. Landing on a single one hits it to the bar.
- A checker on the bar must re-enter in your opponent's home board before you move anything else.
- You must use both dice if you can; if only one can be played, play the larger when you have the choice.
- Once all your checkers are in your home board you may bear them off. First to bear off all 15 wins.
- No doubling cube or gammons: every game is a single win.
Quick play
Five-minute games for the bus stop, including a word game in Yorùbá and English.
Ibile Match Made by Ibile Solo ~3 min
Swap two neighbouring beads to line up three or more of one colour. Cleared beads score, new ones fall in, and chain reactions multiply your points.
- The board is 7x7 with 5 colours, and you have 12 moves. The default target is 500 points.
- A swap must make a line of three or more, across or down, or it is not allowed.
- Each cleared bead is worth 10 points times the combo; every cascade after your swap raises the combo by one.
- Store boosters (bomb, colour clear, shuffle, extra moves) never cost a move and are for casual play only.
- The run ends when your moves are used up.
8-Ball Pool Played everywhere 2 players ~8 min
Aim and set your power to pot object balls with the cue ball. Pot one and you shoot again. Clear the object balls, then sink the 8-ball to win.
- A simplified 8-ball: seven object balls plus the 8-ball, and no solids or stripes. Either player may pot any object ball.
- Pot an object ball and you shoot again; a miss passes the turn.
- Potting the cue ball, or not touching any ball, is a foul and passes the turn. After a scratch the cue ball goes back to its spot.
- Pot the 8-ball after all object balls are gone to win. Potting it early, or along with the cue ball, loses.
Carrom E. & S. Africa 2 players ~10 min
Flick the striker to pot all nine coins of your colour into the corner pockets. Potting one of yours, or the queen, lets you shoot again.
- Each player has 9 coins and shoots from their own baseline; the striker returns to your baseline after every shot.
- Pot a coin of your colour, or the queen, and you shoot again. Otherwise the turn passes.
- The queen counts as one of your coins, so you can win with 8 of yours plus the queen.
- Potting the striker is a foul and passes the turn. Potting an opponent's coin gives nobody credit.
- The first player to pot all their coins, counting the queen, wins.
Bubble Shooter Played everywhere Solo ~4 min
Aim and fire coloured bubbles at the cluster. Join three or more of one colour to pop them, and anything left hanging falls too. Clear the board before the bubbles cross the line.
- Aim the shot; bubbles bounce off the side walls and stick where they touch.
- A group of 3 or more of the same colour pops, 10 points each.
- Bubbles no longer connected to the top drop, 15 points each.
- Clear every bubble for a 200-point bonus. A bubble that sticks at or past the danger line ends the run.
Word (YO/EN) Yorùbá & English Solo ~5 min
Make words from the seven letter tiles in your rack. Every valid word scores and your rack refills from the bag. End the run whenever you like to bank your score.
- Words must be 2 to 8 letters and in the game's English or Yoruba word list, spelled only from tiles in your rack.
- Common letters are worth 1, mid letters 2 and rare letters 3; longer words earn a bigger multiplier.
- Using your whole rack in one word earns a 25-point bonus.
- Used tiles are replaced from a shuffled bag in the same order every time.
- The run ends when you stop, or when the bag and your rack are both empty.
Trivia Played everywhere Solo ~4 min
Answer ten multiple-choice questions, one at a time. Each correct answer scores, and answering several in a row builds a streak bonus.
- Each question has four options and one correct answer. You find out straight away whether you were right.
- A correct answer scores 100 points, plus 20 for each answer in your current streak after the first, up to 8.
- A wrong answer scores nothing and resets your streak.
- The run ends after the last question. There is no bonus for speed.
Sudoku Played everywhere Solo ~10 min
Fill the 9x9 grid so every row, column and 3x3 box holds the digits 1 to 9 exactly once. Each puzzle has exactly one solution.
- The given digits are fixed. Fill in the empty cells.
- A digit that does not match the solution is not accepted, so the puzzle can always be finished.
- You can clear any digit you placed.
- The default puzzle has 32 to 39 given digits.
- The puzzle is solved when every cell is filled.
2048 Played everywhere Solo ~5 min
Slide the tiles in one direction; two tiles with the same number merge into one worth their sum. Keep merging to reach the 2048 tile.
- Every move slides all tiles as far as they go on a 4x4 grid, and a new 2 or 4 appears.
- Each merge adds the new tile's value to your score.
- A move that changes nothing is not allowed.
- Reaching 2048 is the goal, but you can keep playing after it.
- The game ends when no move is possible.
Snake Played everywhere Solo ~3 min
Steer the snake to eat food and grow longer. Every bite scores. Do not hit the walls or your own tail.
- The snake keeps moving; you choose when to turn. You cannot reverse straight back on yourself.
- Each piece of food scores 10 points and makes the snake one segment longer.
- Hitting a wall or your own body ends the run. The board is 15x15.
- A Continue from the store can revive you after a crash in casual play.
Blocks Played everywhere Solo ~5 min
Drop and rotate the falling pieces to fill complete rows across the well. Full rows clear and score. The game ends when the pieces stack to the top.
- The well is 9 wide and 16 deep, with a mix of three-, four- and five-cell pieces.
- Choose each piece's rotation and column; it falls straight down until it lands.
- Every piece placed scores 4 points. Clearing 1, 2, 3 or 4 rows at once scores 40, 100, 220 or 500.
- The game ends when the next piece cannot enter the well.
Sports
Darts, archery, bowling and mini golf, played with a flick.
Darts Played everywhere 2 players ~6 min
Throw three darts a turn and count down from 501. Trebles and doubles multiply the segment you hit. Finish on exactly zero with a double to win.
- Aim each dart; your throw lands close to where you aimed, with a little natural wobble.
- The outer ring doubles a segment and the inner ring trebles it. Outer bull is 25, bullseye is 50.
- Going below zero, leaving 1, or reaching zero without a double is a bust: your score goes back to where the turn started.
- The bullseye counts as a double for finishing.
- The first player to reach exactly zero wins.
Archery Played everywhere 2 players ~4 min
Aim at the target, allow for the wind, and loose. Ten rings score 1 to 10 from the edge to the centre. The highest total after all the ends wins.
- Each player shoots an end of 3 arrows, then the other player shoots theirs. A match is 12 ends each.
- Your arrow lands near your aim, pushed by the wind for that end and a little hand tremor on each arrow.
- Each arrow scores 1 to 10 by ring; off the target face scores 0.
- The higher total wins; equal totals are a draw.
Bowling Played everywhere 2 players ~8 min
Pick your line, power and spin, and roll to knock down all ten pins. Ten frames each; strikes and spares carry a bonus. The higher total wins.
- Players take turns by frame. Each frame you get up to two rolls to knock down the ten pins.
- A strike (all ten on the first roll) scores 10 plus your next two rolls. A spare (all ten in two) scores 10 plus your next roll.
- In the tenth frame, a strike or spare earns extra rolls to finish the bonus.
- Each roll has a little lane variation you cannot control.
- After ten frames the higher total wins; equal totals are a draw.
Mini Golf Played everywhere Solo ~5 min
Set the power and aim of each stroke to get the ball into the hole in as few shots as you can. Play nine holes; the lowest total against par is best.
- Each hole has a distance and a par of 3, 4 or 5. Power sets how far you hit, and aim steers left or right.
- Drifting off line puts you in the rough, which shortens your next shots until you aim back.
- The ball is holed once it finishes within 2 metres of the pin.
- Each shot has a little wind you cannot control. A hole is picked up after twice its par plus 5 strokes.
- Your score is your total strokes over the nine holes, measured against par.
Play them all when we open.
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