Mancala Ultimate vs The Mancala
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mancala Ultimate
Experience a classic board game of strategy and collection. The goal is to gather more stones than your opponent by strategically distributing them across holes. Capture opponent's stones and aim for bonus turns to secure victory.
- Traditional Mancala gameplay
- Strategic stone distribution
- Opponent stone capture
- Bonus turn mechanics
- Single-player and multiplayer options (implied by 'opponent')
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This is based on the traditional group of games played in various parts of the world. To win the game you need to collect more stones than your opponent. Each player has six holes in front of them and a collection hole on their right. To play the game a player chooses one of the holes in front of them and picks up all the stones inside it. They then deposit one stone in every hole, moving counter-clockwise. Each player skips their opponent's collection hole. If the last stone is deposited in the player's collection hole, that player gets another turn. If the last stone is deposited in an empty hole in front of the player, it gets captured along with any stones in the opposite hole and gets deposited in the collection hole. The game ends when all six of the holes in front of either player are empty. If there are any stones left in front of the other player, they get captured and deposited in the collection hole of that player.
The Mancala
Experience an ancient board game of strategy and collection. Learn the simple rules with built-in guides and challenge yourself across ten difficulty levels. Enjoy beautiful graphics and customize your game board.
- Learnable rules with help feature
- Play against AI or a friend
- 10 difficulty levels
- Customizable board and stones
- Undo and hint options
- Game statistics
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Enjoy the world's most ancient board game for free with The Mancala! Everyone can enjoy the game, we have provided a help feature to understand the rules. ■Mancala, Kalah Mancala, also known as Kalah is an ancient board game enjoyed by players all over the world. The object is to collect more stones than your opponent, and the rules are very simple. ■ How to Play We have provided a rule description for beginners. You can learn the rules easily, so everyone can start enjoying Mancala right now! ■ 2 Game Modes You can play against the computer, and also play against your friends sharing a device. ■ 10 Levels of Game Play There are 10 levels for games against the computer. The lower levels are perfect to learn the game, the higher levels will be tough even for advanced players! ■ Beautiful graphics There are three types of Board and Stones. Choose your favorite board and let's start playing. ■Other features - Undo - Hint - Statistics of games against the computer - 2 types of game music - Playing speed adjustment (Fast/Normal/Slow)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Mancala at 100% against Mancala Ultimate's 33%. The Mancala also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.8) and ratings volume (97 vs 14). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Mancala holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Mancala has 97 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Mancala Ultimate's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Mancala's.
Mancala Ultimate ships an update every 5 months, The Mancala every 8 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Mancala Ultimate | The Mancala |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (14 ratings) | 4.8 (97 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 97 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 110 MB | 207 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MOBILEFUSION APPS LTD | UNBALANCE Corporation |
Customer experience
Mancala Ultimate
The Mancala
In-app purchases
Mancala Ultimate
No in-app purchases
The Mancala
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mancala Ultimate free?
Is The Mancala free?
Which has better reviews, Mancala Ultimate or The Mancala?
Do Mancala Ultimate or The Mancala have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mancala Ultimate or The Mancala?
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