Lily
Hop Mancala
A Mancala game with a twist, designed by a pedagogue for the family table. Print the pond, cut out the frogs, and play: children learn to plan a few moves ahead, manage what they have, and change course when the board turns against them. Built-in handicaps let a six-year-old and an adult compete fairly.
- ✓Fair for all ages: handicap rules and "Move something else!" tokens
- ✓Comes with a teaching guide by its designer, pedagogue Máté Lencse
- ✓Three rules, learned in a round, worth talking about afterwards
A game by Máté Lencse
Want to learn the rules first? Play it in your browser, free, or get the app:
What you get
Five PDFs. Print at home, play in ten minutes.
Everything is sized for standard A4 paper. Print the pond board and the two frog sheets, cut out the pieces, and you have the full game. The rules fit on one page. The teaching guide explains what children practise while they sow and capture, how to introduce the game to different ages, how to use the handicap tokens so a younger player has a real chance, and which questions to ask after the last move.
From checkout to kitchen table
Buy and download
Pay 4 EUR by card. The PDFs arrive in your inbox and open on any device.
Print and cut
Three sheets on plain A4. Thicker paper or a glue-on cardboard backing makes the frogs last.
Play together, then talk about it
Two players, twelve frogs each, a few minutes a game. The guide's questions turn the round into a conversation: what worked, what didn't, what would we try next time.
Why play Lily Hop Mancala
A simple mechanic with deep educational value — exploring the benefits of play.
Ancient mechanics, modern twist
Built upon the timeless foundation of Mancala, Lily Hop Mancala introduces fresh mechanics that challenge players to manage resources while adapting to an ever-changing board.
Strategic Planning
Every move matters. Players must look ahead, evaluating how distributing their pieces across the lily pads will create vulnerabilities or opportunities for capture.
Resource Management
Pieces are both your movement capability and your potential prize. Players constantly decide when to concentrate their forces and when to spread them out.
Pattern Recognition
As players gain experience, they begin to spot the visual patterns that lead to successful captures, freeing up cognitive capacity for deeper tactical thinking.
Flexibility & Adaptability
The board transforms drastically with every single turn. Players learn to quickly abandon old plans and adapt to new threats and opportunities.
Fair play for all ages
The game supports built-in handicaps — like starting with fewer pieces or utilizing "Move something else!" tokens — allowing adults and children to compete fairly.
We built this online version as a friendly practice ground. Play a few rounds against the computer, get comfortable with the Mancala mechanism, then download and print the game to play it with your kids at home. You'll already know the rules, so you can guide them confidently — turning a screen-time session into a shared learning moment.
Play in your browser · also in the PlayWise Games app:
How to play
Learn the flow of the game in just a few steps.
The Goal: Catch the most pieces
The goal of Lily Hop Mancala is very simple: capture more pieces than your opponent, or leave them with no legal moves. The game ends when the outcome can no longer change, or when one player is unable to make a move.
Sow your pieces
On your turn, pick up all the pieces from any single space where you have more pieces than your opponent (or an equal amount). You then distribute these pieces, one by one, onto adjacent connected spaces in a continuous path.
Capture on the board
Whenever a space contains 5 pieces, all of them are removed and awarded to the player who has the majority on that space. There are three possible combinations: 5–0, 4–1, and 3–2. Naturally, the last one is the most valuable capture.
Start playing · also in the PlayWise Games app:
Community Puzzle Gallery
- Create a puzzle situation which you can print and show to your kids or friends (children, students, etc.). This helps them learn tactics!
- Submit your puzzle to the gallery so others can see it and use it to learn.
Educational roots, digital branches.
Lily Hop Mancala (Vízi liliomok) was designed by Máté Lencse, a dedicated pedagogue and game designer. Drawing inspiration from ancient Mancala games, Máté created Lily Hop Mancala to help develop crucial cognitive skills in children, ranging from resource management to combinatorial thinking.
By publishing the game online, our goal is to make it accessible to a wider audience while providing a safe sandbox for parents and educators to learn the rules before introducing it in the classroom or at the dining table.
Máté Lencse, game designer and pedagogue.
Before you buy
What do I need to print it?
Any home or office printer and three sheets of A4. Colour is nicer, black and white works.
How do I get the files?
Right after payment you get a download link on screen and by email. Keep the email; the link stays valid.
Can I use it in a classroom?
Yes. One purchase covers printing as many copies as your own class needs. The teaching guide is written for exactly that.
What ages is it for?
From about 6 with a parent's help. The handicap rules in the guide let players of very different ages have a fair game.
Is the digital game the same?
Same rules, same pond, but against the computer. It is there to learn the moves. The package is for the table.
Ready to hop in?
One package, two players, endless rounds at the table.
Get the package, 4 EURNot sure yet? Play a round in your browser first.