Pallanguzhi game: rules in English and how to play online
Pallanguzhi is the traditional pit-and-seed game of Tamil Nadu, played for generations on a wooden board with tamarind seeds, cowrie shells or bright red manjadi seeds. Two players take turns picking up seeds and sowing them round the board, collecting as many as they can.
Below are the rules in English, step by step, the game's names in other languages, a little history, and how to play Pallanguzhi online for free on Viaraa: on a video call, with friends, or against the computer.
Free to join
The board and the seeds
A Pallanguzhi board has 14 pits in two rows of 7. Each player owns the row of 7 pits nearest to them. Traditional boards are carved from wood, often in the shape of a fish or with a lid that folds over, and many families still keep one at home.
"Pallanguzhi" simply means "many pits": pal for many and kuzhi for pit. On Viaraa's board, every pit starts with 12 seeds, except the middle pit of each row, which starts with 2. That makes 148 seeds in all.
Pallanguzhi rules, step by step
- 1On your turn, pick up all the seeds from any pit on your side that has seeds in it.
- 2Sow them: drop one seed into each pit in turn, going round the board counter-clockwise, including your opponent's pits.
- 3When you drop your last seed, pick up all the seeds from the next pit and keep sowing in the same way.
- 4If the next pit is empty, take every seed from the pit just beyond it. Those seeds are yours, and your turn ends.
- 5If there are two empty pits in a row, there's nothing to take, and your turn simply ends.
- 6Pasu: whenever a pit reaches exactly 6 seeds as you drop a seed into it, those 6 seeds are yours straight away.
- 7The round ends when the player whose turn it is has no seeds on their side. The other player keeps the seeds still on their own side, and both players count everything they've collected. More seeds means a better score.
Traditional Pallanguzhi goes on for more rounds, where a player who's short of seeds leaves some pits empty. Viaraa plays one round, which takes about 10 to 20 minutes.
How to get better at Pallanguzhi
- Count before you pick. Work out where your last seed will land, and what's in the pit after it.
- Look for an empty pit followed by a full one: landing just before it lets you take the full pit.
- Watch for pits with 5 seeds: dropping a seed into one makes a pasu of 6.
- Keep a few seeds on your side. If your row runs empty on your turn, the round ends and the seeds left on your opponent's side stay theirs.
Pallanguzhi is a game of counting and planning, which is why grandparents across South India used it to teach children numbers, patience and quick thinking.
Pallanguzhi in other languages
Pit-and-seed games are played all over the world, from Africa to South East Asia, and are known in English as mancala games. In South India, each language has its own name for its version:
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Tamil | Pallanguzhi (பல்லாங்குழி) |
| Telugu | Vamana Guntalu (వామన గుంటలు) |
| Kannada | Ali Guli Mane (ಅಳಿ ಗುಳಿ ಮನೆ) |
| Malayalam | Kuzhipara (കുഴിപ്പാറ) |
| English | Mancala |
The rules change a little from village to village: the number of seeds, the pasu number and how rounds end. If your family played a little differently, that's part of the game's history too.
Play Pallanguzhi online on Viaraa
Viaraa runs in your browser, so there's nothing to download. The board counts and sows the seeds for you, so nobody loses track mid-move, and every capture is shown as it happens.
- On a video call: during a one-to-one call with a host, open Pallanguzhi and keep talking while you play. Games inside calls are always free.
- With a friend: invite them by their Game ID, or make a group with up to 12 friends and start a game there.
- Against the computer: choose Play with Viaraa in the Games tab and play any time.
Outside calls, playing with friends, in groups and against the computer is free for now. Games on Viaraa are only for fun: trophies and bragging rights, nothing else.
A game for a quiet conversation
Pallanguzhi is calmer than Ludo or Snakes & Ladders. Moves take a little thought, which leaves room to talk between turns. That makes it a lovely game to play on a video call with a parent or grandparent who taught you the game in the first place.
Want more traditional games? See Aadu Puli Attam, Paramapadham and all the Indian board games on Viaraa.
Questions, answered
How many seeds are in Pallanguzhi?
On Viaraa's board, each of the 14 pits starts with 12 seeds, except the middle pit of each row, which starts with 2: 148 seeds in all. Families often use different numbers.
What is pasu in Pallanguzhi?
When a pit reaches exactly 6 seeds as you drop a seed in, those 6 seeds are yours. Some families play pasu at 4 seeds instead.
How do you end a game of Pallanguzhi?
The round ends when the player whose turn it is has no seeds on their side. Both players count the seeds they've collected.
What is Pallanguzhi called in English?
It belongs to the mancala family of games. In Telugu it's Vamana Guntalu, in Kannada Ali Guli Mane and in Malayalam Kuzhipara.
Can I play Pallanguzhi online for free?
Yes. On Viaraa, games inside video calls are always free, and playing with friends and against the computer is free for now.
Keep reading
- Indian board gamesTraditional Indian board games to play online, on a video call or with friends.
- 12 games to play on a video callBoard games, word games and guessing games that work on any video call.
- Aadu Puli Attam (Tiger & Goats)Three tigers against fifteen goats: the rules, the history and where to play it online.
- Malayalam video call appVideo call hosts who speak Malayalam, from anywhere, with nothing to install.