ZANZIBAR BOARD GAME

BAO LA KISWAHILI

PROTOTYPE AI-GEN4 / Normal
GAME SETUP

Game Setup

TURN 1 ▼ SOUTH
NAMUA
NORTH HAND 22 SOUTH HAND 22

Choose a highlighted pit

About Bao

Bao la Kiswahili, commonly called Bao, is a traditional East African mancala strategy board game especially associated with Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. Players sow kete (seeds or pieces) through rows of pits, capture opposing pieces, and try to empty the opponent's front row or leave the opponent without a legal move.

This free browser version lets you play Bao online against the computer AI or as a local two-player board game on the same device. Once the game files are cached, it also works offline.

How to Play / Rules Used
Illustrated Guide to Bao Rules ↗ From board setup to sowing, captures and winning. Opens in a new tab.

In computer mode, choose whether to play first (SOUTH) or second (NORTH). In local two-player mode, SOUTH and NORTH take turns on the same device. Choose a highlighted pit, then choose a sowing direction.

During namua, one kete is added from hand on each move. When both players' hands are empty, the game enters mtaji. You win by emptying the opponent's front row or leaving the opponent with no legal move.

Terms: kete are the playing pieces, KICHWA are the entry pits at the ends of the front row, and NYUMBA is the house. On a CAPTURE, pieces in the facing opponent front-row pit are taken and sown from the KICHWA determined by the capture rules.

Choices: LEFT/RIGHT describe the circuit along the player's own front row. LEFT CAPTURE/RIGHT CAPTURE select the capture entry in namua, or the initial sowing direction in mtaji. NYUMBA STOP stops at an eligible house; NYUMBA USE uses its pieces to continue relay sowing.

This game is a prototype. Rules, presentation, and behavior may change in future versions.

Bao la Kiswahili Complete Guide (Japanese) uses public draft v0.1.0-draft, rule baseline R-002. Unverified takasia is not applied. A safety limit is used for relay sowing that does not terminate.

AI Improvement Diagnostics

You can save the current position or AI diagnostic records stored on this device as JSON files. “Record AI move” stores the most recent AI move and search statistics only on this device. Nothing is saved automatically or sent externally.

Records on this device: 0