# The &kappname; Handbook

Dalibor
Horinek
dal@horinek.net
2011
Dalibor Horinek
&FDLNotice;
2011-04-23
&kappversion;

&kappname; is an count-and-capture like board game. It's in the mancala family invented by William Julius Champion Jr in 1940. This game heavily favors the starting player, who will always win the three-seed to five-seed versions with perfect play. This game is sometimes also called "Kalahari", "Kalah", "Kalaha" or "Mancala".

KDE
kdegames
game
kMancala
Mancala
board
stones

## Introduction

### Gametype:

Board

### Number of possible players:

One, Two

&kappname; is a board game in the mancala family. This is Kalah type of Mancala game is the most popular and commercially available variant of mancala in the West.

The game requires a Kalah board and 48 seeds or counters. The board has six small pits, called houses, on each side; and a big pit, called a Kalah, store or treasury, at each end. The game is started with four seeds in each house.

## How to play

### Objective:

The object of the game is to capture more seeds than one's opponent.

If game is started a welcome board is showed. From this point you can start new game by pressing New or load saved game using Load. Welcome board Screenshot

When new game is selected, player settings pop-ups. You can select Human or Computer player. When computer player is selected, you have to choose it's difficulty. Player settings Screenshot

After setting players a board with 6 small pits (labeled by letters a-f) on top and bottom and 2 big pits on sides shows up. Bottom pits and the right one belongs to player 1 who is located in the right bottom corner. Top pits and the left pit belongs to player 2. Player on move is hilighted. To make a move you have to click on one of six pits of player on turn. New game board Screenshot

## Game Rules

### Game Basics

To make a valid move you have to click to one of the current player's pits. There has to be at least one stone in a pit to move be valid, otherwise you can't do that move.

### Game Rules

If you make a valid move, then stones are distributed counterclockwise way one by one.

If last stone is placed in your store/treasury you have an extra turn and you play again.

When last stone is placed in your empty pit, now you capture stones from your opponent's opposite pit.

## Interface Overview

### Game Menu

&Ctrl;N Game New

  Starts a new game.

&Ctrl;O Game Load

  Loads saved game.

&Ctrl;O Game Load

  Loads saved game.

&Ctrl;Q Game Quit

  Quits game.

### Move Menu

&Ctrl;Z Move Undo

  One move back.

&Ctrl; &Shift; Z Move Redo

  One move forward.

H Move Hint

  Suggests best move.

### Settings Menu

&Ctrl;H Settings Show history

  Toggles history view.

&Ctrl; P Settings Change players

  Change players.

## Credits and License

&kappname;

Program Copyright © 2011 Dalibor Horinek dal@horinek.net

Documentation Copyright © 2011 Dalibor Horinek dal@horinek.net

&underFDL;

&underGPL;

## Installation

For installation you can obtain prebuilt packages from homepage or compile it by yourself.

### Compilation and Installation

Source code can be obtained at http://www.horinek.net. To compile this application unpack the source code, cd to it and follow instructions in INSTALL file.

&documentation.index;