# Mancala. vs Mancala

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mancala. at 80% against Mancala's 13%. Mancala. also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.6) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 17 months). Mancala's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Mancala. sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Mancala sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Mancala. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mancala. has 37K ratings behind it against 242, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Mancala.'s written reviews are positive against 13% of Mancala's.

Mancala. ships an update every 2 months, Mancala every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mancala. | Mancala |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (37K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala/id615261740/reviews)** | [2.6 (242 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala-board-game/id854357402/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **37K** | 242 |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 12.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 17 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#98** | — |
| Size | 85 MB | 102 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 | **9.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sergey Skosyrev](https://appshunter.io/developer/1141722489) | [AppOn](https://appshunter.io/developer/747788889) |

## What reviewers say

### Mancala.

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala/id615261740)

**Currently charting:** #98 Top Free · Trivia, #154 Top Grossing · Trivia (US App Store)

Experience Mancala, an ancient strategy board game. Move marbles counter-clockwise, aiming to collect the most in your home hole. Enjoy a classic game of skill and foresight.

**Highlights:** Ancient board game gameplay, Counter-clockwise marble movement, Strategic home hole collection, Simple rules, deep strategy, Single-player game

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 50 diamonds | $1.99 | one-time |
| 55 diamonds | $1.99 | one-time |
| 90 diamonds | $2.99 | one-time |
| Advanced Features | $4.99 | one-time |
| 150 diamonds | $4.99 | one-time |
| Avalanche Advanced Features | $4.99 | one-time |
| 145 diamonds | $4.99 | one-time |
| 180 diamonds | $6.99 | one-time |
| 350 diamonds | $9.99 | one-time |
| 750 diamonds | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Well-built app
- 👍 Enjoyable to play
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Great to learn
- 👍 Fast gameplay for practice

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 AI too easy to beat
- 💰 Paid version required for more features
- 💰 Hints/diamonds cost money
- 🤔 Confusing rules and gameplay
- 🤔 Predictable AI patterns

**Reported bugs**

- Hint button not working properly
- Peg solitaire mode has unsolvable levels

**Requested features**

- Multiplayer mode
- Difficulty settings for AI
- Earn in-game currency through gameplay
- More single-player modes and puzzles
- Clearer in-app instructions and rules


### Mancala

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala-board-game/id854357402)

Experience Mancala, an ancient African board game, on your mobile device. Play against friends online or offline, learn strategies through interactive tutorials and mini-games, and enjoy visually appealing boards. The goal is to collect more 'beans' than your opponent to win.

**Highlights:** Online multiplayer, Offline two-player mode, Interactive tutorials, Strategy mini-games, Multiple difficulty levels, Beautiful board designs

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2000 Chips | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $0.99 | one-time |
| Value Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Super Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Board 1 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Board 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Board 3 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Premium Pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| Jumbo Pack | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and clear gameplay mechanics
- ⚙️ Customizable difficulty settings
- 📱 Minimal ad interference (in some versions)
- 🎮 CPU opponent available
- 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing user interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Constant glitches during gameplay
- 💸 Excessive advertisements
- 💸 Pay-to-win structure with microtransactions
- 🔌 Poor online connectivity and dropped connections

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup or during gameplay
- Game freezes during opponent's turn
- Chips/coins disappear or are incorrectly calculated
- Marble counting is inaccurate
- Timer runs out but turn doesn't switch

**Requested features**

- Fix timer system to automatically forfeit when expired
- Implement proper chip loss prevention on disconnections
- Add volume settings that persist
- Improve connection stability for online play
- Add game settings for marble count customization


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mancala. free?

Mancala. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Mancala free?

Mancala is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Mancala. or Mancala?

Mancala. is rated higher. Mancala. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 37K ratings, while Mancala averages 2.6 from 242 ratings.

### Do Mancala. or Mancala have ads?

Neither Mancala. nor Mancala shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mancala. or Mancala?

Mancala. ships an update every 2 months, and Mancala every 17 months. Most recently, Mancala. was updated on November 6, 2026 and Mancala on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*