Congklak

Congklak is a traditional game known by various names, on the Indonesian archipelago. The most common name, congklak, is taken from cowrie shell, which is commonly used to Playing Congklak. In Java, the games is known as congklak, dakon, dhakon, or dhakonan.

*To Play - The First Round*
Count 7 shells into each of the holes on your side of the board. Leave your store house (at the end) empty. (If your board has less/more than 7 holes on each side, fill each hole with playing pieces equal in number to the number of holes on one side of the board).

Decide who will go first.

The first player takes all of the shells out of any hole on their side of the board. Move clockwise around the board and drop one shell into each hole in an effort to reach your own storehouse at the end of the board. Do not drop a shell into your opponents store house.

If the last hole into which you dropped a shell:

Has shells in it - take all of the shells in that hole and put them in your store house and continue moving around the board just like you did in the beginning of the game.

Is empty - leave your shell in that hole and end your turn. You are mati and it is now your opponents turn.

Is your store house - You get another turn. Take all of the shells out of any hole on your side of the board and continue to play moving around the board clockwise.

Is empty + is on your side + you move gone around the board at least one time . Take this last shell, and all of the shells from your opponents hole which is directly across from you, and put them all into your store house. It is now your opponents turn.

After the first players turn ends (mati), the opponent begins his/her turn and plays in the same manner.

The round ends when one player runs out of shells on his or her side of the board. If you run out of shells first (kalah jalan), your opponent wins the round (menang jalan). The winner of the round goes first in the next round.

*Second Round*
When one player has run out of shells, both players take all of their shells out of their store house, as well as any leftover shells from their side of the board.

Each player recounts the 7 shells into each hole on their side of the board, starting with the hole nearest your own store house. If one player has leftovers after putting 7 shells into each hole, they are menang biji and put all the extra shells back into their store house.

Since the losing opponent will not have enough shells to put 7 in each hole, they must ngacang, have some holes with less shells. This is done by filling in as many holes as possible with 7 shells, and splitting the remaining shells up amongst the remaining holes on their side of the board. The ngacang holes are the holes closest to the opponents home. The number of ngacang holes will depend on the number of shells remaining after the previous round of play, but should never be more than 3 holes. Some ngacang holes may even be empty if youre really low on shells.

The ngacang holes become protected from your opponent in this round. As your opponent goes around the board, they must skip these holes, not dropping a shell in them. Neither player can take shells from these holes - but you can drop shells in your own ngacang holes. Ngacang shells are also protected from tembak if your opponent ends up in an empty hole across from them.

This is an important, strategic handicap, as the player who has at least one shell in her rightmost hole can always continue the jalan on her side of the board.

In the second and successive rounds, the person who begins play is the one who goes out of shells last (menang jalan) in the previous round.