Description

Isolo (according to Kalumbete also called isumbi) is the name given to three related mancala games played by the Sukuma, in Tanzania. This is the more simple one, the "women's game" (in fact, the girls' game).

The game begins with 2 seeds per hole. (In a 4x8 grid of holes with one of the longer sides facing each player.) On the first game the beginning player is chosen at random. On the following games, it alternates.
Each player controls the two rows closer to her.
Moves are multiple lap.
On her turn the player takes all the seeds from a hole on her side and sows them one by one on the following holes on her side, on a counterclockwise sense.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in an empty hole the move ends.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in a hole not allowing a capture she takes all the seeds on this hole and keeps on sowing another lap.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in a hole of the inner row and on the opponent's facing holes there are any seeds she captures them and sows them in another lap starting on the same hole the capturing lap started.
If on her turn a player can not move (she has no seeds, or all of them are singletons) she has lost the game."

That is the basic game. An intermediate form is:

"This is the middle (according to difficulty) one, the "boys' game".

The game begins with a special position" Thesame board as the above but with a non-uniform starting position. 17 seeds start in the pit at the bottom right corner for each player. The adjacent pit in the same row starts with 2 seeds as does each other pit in the same row thereafter. In the middle two rows, pits with an empty pit behind them (i.e., closer to the nearer player) start with 2 seeds and the hole diagonally next to the corner starts wth 1 seed on each side. Other pits start empty.

"On the first game the beginning player is chosen at random. On the following games, it alternates.
Each player controls the two rows closer to him.
General rules
General rules are as those of women's game.
Moves are multiple lap.
On his turn the player takes all the seeds from a hole on his side and sows them one by one on the following holes on his side, on a counterclockwise sense.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in an empty hole the move ends.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in a hole not allowing a capture he takes all the seeds on this hole and keeps on sowing another lap.
If the last seed of a lap is sown in a hole of the inner row and in the opponent's facing holes there are any seeds he captures them and sows them in another lap starting on the same hole the capturing lap started.
If on his turn a player can not move (he has no seeds, or all of them are singletons) he has lost the game.
Overture
At the beginning of the game some special rules apply.
Both pits containing 17 seeds are called ng'hana (privileged pits).
During the player's overture (each player overture can last differently) seeds are sowed only on his 14 left most holes, and the contents of the ng'hana can not be captured.

Once a player decides to (or must, as all other pits are empty or singletons) play the ng'hana his overture is over, he sows the seeds on the full board and all his seeds can be captured, from any pit. However, he can not capture the opponent's ng'hana as far as the opponent is still playing his own overture. "