Toguzkumalak (also spelled togyzkumalak or togyzqumalaq) is an ancient Kazakh board game from the mancala family โ a two-player game of pure strategy with no luck involved. Its name means "nine pebbles," and once you learn the handful of rules below you can enjoy a game that rewards counting, planning, and patience.
This guide explains the toguzkumalak rules for beginners step by step, so you can sit down and play your first match with confidence. We will cover the board, how to move, how to capture stones, the special "sacred" hole called the tuzdyk, and how to win.
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Toguzkumalak is one of the oldest and most respected games of the Kazakh mancala game tradition, played across Central Asia for centuries. Like other mancala games, it is a "sowing" game: you scoop up the pieces from one hollow and drop them one at a time into the hollows around the board.
What makes it special is its depth. The position is always fully visible, nothing is hidden, and no dice are rolled, so every result comes down to skill. Because there is no randomness, toguzkumalak is often compared to chess and checkers. It is played competitively with official rankings in Kazakhstan and beyond, yet the core rules are simple enough to learn in a few minutes.
The board has two long rows of holes. Each player owns nine holes (each one is called an otau, meaning "small tent") arranged in a row in front of them. Each player also has one large store called the kazan (qazan), where captured stones are kept and counted.
There are 162 stones in total. At the start of the game, every one of the 18 playing holes holds exactly 9 stones (9 stones multiplied by 18 holes equals 162). The two kazans begin empty. Players decide who moves first, and then turns alternate.
On your turn you choose one of your own nine holes that contains stones and "sow" the stones counter-clockwise. Follow these steps:
Sowing continues into your opponent's row once your handful reaches it. You always place exactly one stone per hole until you run out. The hole where your last stone lands is what matters for capturing.
You capture stones by making your opponent's holes even. The rule is short:
If the last stone lands in your own hole, or leaves the opponent's hole with an odd number, nothing is captured that turn. Because captures depend on ending on an even count, experienced players count carefully to line up their final stone on a hole that will flip to an even total.
The tuzdyk is the most distinctive rule in toguzkumalak. If your last sown stone makes one of your opponent's holes contain exactly three stones, that hole becomes your tuzdyk โ a "sacred" hole that belongs to you for the rest of the game.
A well-placed tuzdyk acts like a permanent trap, quietly draining your opponent's stones into your kazan turn after turn. Winning the race to claim a good tuzdyk is often the turning point of the game.
The goal is simple: collect the majority of the 162 stones. Since half of 162 is 81:
The game ends when a player can no longer move because all of their holes are empty. Keeping an eye on your kazan throughout the match helps you know how close you are to the winning total.
A few habits will speed up your progress:
The best way to learn is to play often. You can play toguzkumalak online for free at 9qum.com โ against the built-in AI at different strengths or against real people, with ratings, tournaments, and step-by-step training to guide you from your first game all the way to competitive play.
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