Togyzkumalak rules (Toguz Korgool)

The board, the stones and the goal

The board has two rows of nine holes. A hole is called otau ("dwelling"). The near row is yours, the far row belongs to your opponent: you sow from your own holes and capture from theirs. Each player also has a kazan — a store for captured stones. Stones in a kazan never come back into play.

At the start every one of the 18 holes holds nine stones (kumalak), 162 in total. That number never changes — a stone is either in a hole or in a kazan — which makes it a handy way to check whether you counted a move correctly.

The goal is to collect more than half of the stones. Half of 162 is 81, so 82 stones win the game. A score of 81:81 is a draw, and draws are far more common here than beginners expect.

• 18 holes: 9 yours, 9 your opponent’s
• 162 stones, 9 per hole
• 82 stones in your kazan wins
• 81:81 is a draw

Making a move: sowing

A move means taking all stones from one of your holes and dropping them one by one counterclockwise — first along your own row, then along your opponent’s row in the same direction. That is sowing.

The rule most often misread: if a hole holds more than one stone, the first stone stays in the hole you took from. Nine stones therefore land like this — one back into the original hole, the other eight into the next eight holes. A hole is left empty only when it held exactly one stone, which then moves to the neighbouring hole.

You may only sow from a non-empty hole of your own. With many stones the sowing wraps around the board: after your opponent’s ninth hole it continues from your first.

Capturing a hole: the parity rule

If your last stone lands in one of your opponent’s holes and makes the number of stones there even, you take the entire hole into your kazan. One stone became two — both are yours; three became four — you take four.

Three conditions, all required: the stone must be the last of the sowing, the hole must be on your opponent’s side, and the resulting count must be even. Even counts in your own holes give you nothing, and neither does an even count reached midway through the sowing.

Captures are the main source of stones, which is why strong players look at the opponent’s row before their own and count which holes are about to become even.

The tuzdyk — a sacred hole

If your last stone makes exactly three stones in one of your opponent’s holes, that hole becomes your tuzdyk ("salty place"). You take those three stones immediately, and the hole itself becomes yours for the rest of the game: every stone that ever lands there — sown by either player — goes straight into your kazan.

The tuzdyk is the strongest thing in the game. It keeps earning until the last move, without your attention and regardless of whose turn it is. A well-placed tuzdyk often decides the game on its own.

• Each player may create only one tuzdyk per game.
• The opponent’s ninth (last) hole can never become a tuzdyk.
• You cannot place your tuzdyk opposite your opponent’s — the mirroring hole number is forbidden.
• Like a capture, a tuzdyk can only be made on the opponent’s side.

Atsyrau: the opponent has no stones left

Sometimes after your move your opponent’s row is empty and they have nothing to sow. This position is called atsyrau. All stones remaining on your side then go into your kazan and the game ends immediately.

The winner is determined the usual way — by the number of stones in the two kazans. Atsyrau is not a separate way to win but a way to end the game early: if you were behind, the extra stones may not be enough.

Togyzkumalak always terminates: either someone reaches 82 stones, or atsyrau happens, or the score becomes 81:81. There is no position in which the game continues but nobody can move.

Scoring

82 stones or more

A win. More than half the stones are collected, so the deficit can no longer be recovered.

81:81

A draw. The stones split exactly in half.

Atsyrau

The game ends early; the winner is whoever holds more stones.

Online games add Fischer clocks on top of that: each player has a time bank plus an increment for every move made. Run out of time and you lose, whatever the position on the board.

Common beginner mistakes

1. 1Assuming the first stone goes into the next hole. It does not: when sowing more than one stone, the first stays put.
2. 2Waiting for a capture on your own side. Only the opponent’s holes can be captured.
3. 3Checking parity midway through a sowing. Only the hole where the last stone lands matters.
4. 4Hoarding stones in one hole "for later". A large sowing wraps the whole board and feeds your opponent too.
5. 5Making a tuzdyk at the first opportunity. A badly placed tuzdyk earns almost nothing, and you never get a second one.

Frequently asked questions