Congkak Daily

About Congkak Daily

Congkak is a two-player count-and-capture game played for generations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, on a wooden board with two rows of seven houses and a storehouse at each end. The same small site that makes Malay Wordle offers it in the browser, with a game against the computer, a two-player mode on one device, and a daily puzzle.

The daily puzzle is numbered and is the same for every player. Instead of the usual start with seven seeds in every house, the board opens part way through a game, with uneven piles in the houses and a few seeds already in each storehouse, and you play your row against the computer from there. A flame and a calendar counter at the top of the screen keep your winning streak and the days you have played.

The rules fit on one page. On your turn you scoop up every seed in one of your houses and sow them one at a time counter-clockwise, into your own storehouse but never your opponent's. If the last seed lands in your storehouse you go again; if it lands in an empty house on your side you capture the seeds in the house opposite. When one side runs out of seeds the game ends, and the most seeds wins.

It suits players who like short strategy puzzles with counting at their heart, and anyone curious about a traditional game from Southeast Asia. The site also has a rules page with diagrams, a strategy guide and a history of the game.

How to play Congkak Daily

1. Open the daily page to see the day's numbered position.
2. Pick a house on your side (the bottom row) to scoop up its seeds.
3. Sow them one by one counter-clockwise, through your storehouse but skipping the computer's.
4. Aim to end in your storehouse for another turn, or in an empty house of yours to capture the seeds opposite.
5. Finish with more seeds than the computer to win the day and grow your streak.

Screenshots

Tips

• Count the seeds in a house before you move: the house whose count lands exactly in your storehouse gives a free turn.
• Free turns chain: take the short ones first so the longer moves still land where you want.
• Watch for an empty house on your side facing a big pile; a move that ends there captures it.

Questions