Pallanguzhi

About the game

Pallanguzhi (பல்லாங்குழி) is one of the best-loved traditional games in Tamil homes. It belongs to the mancala family, the "sowing" games played with pits and seeds across Africa and Asia for centuries.

For generations, grandmothers, mothers and children have played it on the thinnai (திண்ணை), the raised verandah at the front of a house, during festival holidays and long summer afternoons. Boards are often carved from wood, and many fold shut like a box with the seeds stored inside. No board? Scoop fourteen hollows in sand or draw fourteen circles on paper.

There is no single official rulebook, and every family plays a little differently. Below is one common way to play, followed by popular variations.

What you need

• A board with two rows of seven pits, 14 pits in all
• About 70 counters: tamarind seeds (புளியங்கொட்டை), cowrie shells (சோழி) or shiny red manjadi seeds (மஞ்சாடி) all work well
• Two players, and a small bowl or cup each for captured seeds (optional)

A note for parents: seeds and shells are small, so keep them away from toddlers.

Setting up

1. Place the board between the two players so that each has a row of seven pits in front of them. The row nearest you is your side.
2. Put five seeds into each of the 14 pits, so there are 70 seeds on the board.
3. Decide who goes first. Many families let the youngest player start.

How to play

1. Pick up. On your turn, choose any pit on your side that has seeds in it, and pick up all of its seeds.
2. Sow. Moving anticlockwise (to your right along your own row, then around into your opponent's row), drop one seed into each pit in turn, starting with the pit just after the one you emptied. Your opponent's pits count too.
3. Keep going. When you drop your last seed, look at the next pit. If it has seeds, pick them all up and carry on sowing in the same way.
4. Capture. If the next pit is empty, your sowing stops. Skip over the empty pit and capture all the seeds in the pit just beyond it. Put them in your store. Your turn is over.
5. Two empty pits. If the pit beyond the empty pit is also empty, you capture nothing, and your turn is over.
6. Pasu (பசு). In many homes, a pit that reaches exactly four seeds while seeds are being sown is called a pasu, meaning "cow", and its four seeds are taken straight away. Families differ on who takes the pasu: some give it to the player whose side the pit is on, others to the player who is sowing. Agree before you start.
7. Take turns. Play continues until one player has no seeds left on their side. That ends the round. Families also differ on who takes any seeds left on the board, so decide this at the start too.

How to win

Short game: play a single round. Each player counts their captured seeds, and whoever has more wins.

Long game: play several rounds. At the start of each new round, each player refills the pits on their own side from their captured seeds, five seeds to a pit. If you cannot fill a pit completely, leave it empty. That pit is out of play for the round, and most families skip it while sowing. Any spare seeds stay in your store. Keep playing rounds until one player cannot fill even one pit. The other player is the winner.

Variations

• Seeds per pit: five is a popular choice, but families use anything from four to twelve seeds in each pit. Some start with fewer seeds in the middle pit of each row.
• The pasu rule: some families play without it, and some count a pasu at six seeds instead of four.
• Extra captures: in some homes, when you capture, you also take the seeds in the pit directly opposite.
• For little ones: play one round with no pasu rule. Pick up, sow and capture is plenty of fun on its own.

Why children love it

• Counting and maths. Children soon start working out in their heads where the last seed will land.
• Planning ahead. Good players ask, "If I pick this pit, what happens next?"
• Nimble fingers. Dropping seeds one at a time builds fine motor control.
• Patience and fair play. Waiting your turn, counting honestly, and winning or losing gracefully.
• Time together. Pallanguzhi is a wonderful way for grandparents to share a game from their own childhood.

More games to try: Dhayam, Paramapadam and Aadu Puli Aattam.