The Togyz Qumalaq

New version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kz.enu.togyzqumalaq

Togyz kumalak is a traditional Kazakh game. The togyz kumalak board has 9 game holes for each player. In addition, there are two large holes in the middle of the board to collect the won stones. The number of stones - 162 pieces. According to the rules of the Kazakh game "Togyz kumalak", two players participate in it, each of whom has 9 holes on the board (that is, 18 holes in total, called "otau") located opposite each other. Each hole has its own name 1 - art, 2 - tekturmas, 3 - atopes, 4 - atsytarar, 5 - bel, 6 - belbasar, 7 - kandyakpan, 8 - cockmoin, 9 - manday. In addition, there are two more storage holes on the board, called a "cauldron". At the beginning of the game, each player has 81 balls of his own color, that is, 9 balls for 9 holes.

The main task of the game - shifting the stones in the game holes, collect them as much as possible in your "cauldron". Collected pebbles are folded into a storage well. Players take turns alternately. The player, who has the right to draw the first move, takes out all the balls except for one row of his row, and transfers them from left to right, dropping one into each subsequent hole so that the last ball falls into the opponent's hole. If the number of balls in this hole turns out to be even after the end of the turn, then all of them are “booty” of the player and are transferred to his cauldron. The right of the next move goes to the opponent. If there is not a single ball left in the holes of one of the players, then his opponent transfers all the balls of his row to his cauldron. The game is played until one of the two players picks up more than 81 pebbles in their cauldron (this player wins), or both of them pick up 81 pebbles (a draw).

In the game "Togyz kumalak", it is possible the occurrence of some game situations that are worth describing:

If after a move in a hole there are three pebbles, then this hole is declared “tuzdyk”. Subsequently, every pebble that fell into a tuzdyk passes into the player’s cauldron on whose side this tuzdyk is located, but the player cannot get himself a tuzdyk on the 9th, and also on the hole under that figure which the opponent took first. Each player can have no more than one tuzdyk at a time.

New version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kz.enu.togyzqumalaq

If, after the move of one of the players, all the holes turn out to be empty, then he gets into the situation of “atsyz kalu” (kaz. “To remain without a horse”). In this case, he cannot walk while he remains on foot. In this situation, the game ends, the opponent's pebbles go into the opponent's cauldron and the pebbles in the cauldrons are counted.

The game "Togyz kumalak" could last for four - five hours. This game was popular as in antiquity, when players without even having a game board could simply dig holes for playing in the ground. Popular "Togyz kumalak" and in our time and gradually the number of its fans is growing every year.