Ouri, the Cape Verdean awale

The rules in 30 seconds

• Each player has 6 pits in front of them, with 4 seeds in each pit.
• On your turn, pick one of your pits: its seeds are sown one by one into the following pits, anticlockwise.
• If your last seed lands on your opponent’s side and that pit then holds 2 or 3 seeds, you capture them, plus those of the previous pits that also hold 2 or 3.
• You may not capture all your opponent’s seeds at once, and if your opponent has no seeds left, you must give them some.
• First to 25 seeds wins!

In Cape Verde, ouri is played on a wooden board, in the streets, on squares and under the trees. A game often ends… with a rematch.

Reading the board

• Your row is the bottom one; the row opposite belongs to your opponent. The small numbers 1 to 6 show the order of each player’s pits.
• The dotted arrow shows the direction of play: seeds move to the right in the bottom row, go up, then travel to the left in the top row.
• The glowing pits are the ones you are allowed to play.

An example

Your pit 5 holds 4 seeds. You play it: one seed goes into your pit 6, then the next three go to your opponent’s pits 1, 2 and 3. If their pit 3 held 1 seed, it now holds 2: you capture them. And if their pit 2 also holds 2 or 3 seeds, you capture those too, and so on going back.

Learn as you play

• Keep help ticked: on the first tap, the game shows where the last seed will land (in blue) and what you would capture (in red). Tap again to play.
• The 💡 Need a tip? button suggests the best move.
• Every move, yours and the phone’s, is explained below the board, and the last moves stay available.
• Tick fast mode once you know the game: no more animation.