Sungka — Sow the Shells, Play Free Online 6+
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Sungka is free to play right here in the browser — nothing to order, no carved wooden boat to buy, nothing to install. It is the Philippine sowing game: two rows of seven pits, a big home at each end, and shells dropped one at a time.
It looks like luck and it is not — every shell is counted. Take a pit, drop one shell into each pit going round, and where the last shell lands decides everything. Land in your own home and you move again. Land in an empty pit of your own and you take the shells facing it. 10 levels grow from three shells per pit to seven, and each opponent counts a little further ahead than the last.
How to play
- Tap one of your pits — all its shells lift up.
- Watch them fall one by one into the pits ahead, going round the boat.
- Your own home gets a shell; the opponent's home is skipped.
- Last shell in your home — you get another turn.
- Last shell in an empty pit of yours — you take it and everything in the pit facing it.
What your child learns
- Counting ahead to 7 and to 14 without pen or paper
- Predicting where a sowing will end before starting it
- Weighing two moves against each other instead of grabbing the fullest pit
- Patience: a small move now can win a big pile later
The science behind the games
Every Dad4Kids game is built on one simple truth: children want to play, not study — so we turn learning into a game worth replaying. The method draws on peer-reviewed research in game-based learning, motivation, and how memory works.
- Prins et al. (2013). “Braingame Brian”: toward an executive function training program with game elements. Games for Health Journal.
- Tokac et al. (2019). Effects of game-based learning on students' mathematics achievement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.
- Alotaibi (2024). Game-based learning in early childhood education: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.
- Lampropoulos & Sidiropoulos (2024). Impact of gamification on students' learning outcomes and academic performance: a meta-analysis. Education Sciences.
- Taylor & Boyer (2019). Play-based learning: evidence-based research to improve children's learning experiences. Early Childhood Education Journal.
- Gottfried (1990). Academic intrinsic motivation in young elementary school children. Journal of Educational Psychology.
FAQ
Do I need to buy a sungka board?
No. The game runs free in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer — no wooden boat to order, no registration, no downloads.
What are the rules of sungka?
Each side has seven pits and one home. You take all the shells from one of your pits and sow them one per pit going round, dropping one into your own home but never into the opponent's. If the last shell lands in your home, you move again; if it lands in an empty pit of yours, you capture that shell and the whole pit facing it.
How does a game end?
When one side has no shells left to sow. The shells still lying on the other side go into that player's home, and the bigger home wins.
Is sungka a game of chance?
No. There are no dice and nothing is hidden — every shell on the board is visible and countable, so a stronger plan always wins.
What age is it for?
From 6. The first level plays with three shells per pit so the counting stays short, and the boat grows to seven shells as the child gets faster.
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By Evgeny Arsentiev, PhD · Last updated: September 2026