Togyzkumalak

Togyzqumalaq is a traditional Kazakh board game with a history spanning several centuries.

It develops logical and strategic thinking, attention, memory and sound decision-making.

During training, participants learn the rules, key tactics and strategies, play practice games and prepare for competitions at various levels.

Rules of Togyzqumalaq

The main objective is to collect 82 or more qumalaq stones in one’s qazan.

Board: divided into two sides, one for each player.

Otau pits: 18 in total, nine for each player, numbered from 1 to 9 from left to right.

Qazan stores: two large pits used to collect captured stones.

Qumalaq stones: 162 in total. At the start, nine stones are placed in each of the 18 pits.

Players take turns.

A player selects one of their pits and removes all stones except one, which remains in that pit. If the pit contains only one stone, it is moved to the next pit.

The stones are distributed one at a time counter-clockwise: from left to right through the player’s pits, then from right to left through the opponent’s pits.