Congkak – Traditional Kampong Game
Introduction to Congkak
Congkak is a Mancala game that stems from Malay roots and is widely played in Southeast Asia, in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo, Brunei and Southern Thailand. A popular 2-player game amongst all ages, Congkak is a game of strategy.
The objective of the game is to capture more seeds than the opponent.
Where to buy
You could buy online at our Traditional Games Store or contact us for bulk purchases directly for bulk purchases.
We sell two types of Congkak – the Standard Version and the portable version which can be folded for easy transportation.
Both have 16 holes and come in Gold and Multi colored versions.
Set Up
The Congkak board consists of 2 rows of 8 small holes known as “houses” and 2 larger holes known as “storehouses”; one for each player. At the start of the game, each small house is filled with 7 seeds, while the storehouses are left empty. Players sit facing each other claiming a row of houses each and a storehouse to their left.
Congkak Rules
Both players pick up marbles from one of their own houses. Going clockwise, they deposit one seed per house until the seeds run out. They deposit a seed at their own storehouse, while skipping their opponent’s.
If they finish at a house with seeds, they can pick them up and resume playing.
If they finish at their own storehouse, they get an additional turn.
If they finish at an opponent’s house that is empty, their turn ends.
If they finish at an empty house of their own, they can ‘eat’ the seeds in the opposite house (if any) by depositing them into their own storehouse.
Players take turns until all houses are empty. The player with the most number of seeds in their storehouse wins!