How to Play Ô Ăn Quan

Ô Ăn Quan is a traditional Vietnamese folk game that requires logical calculation and tactics to win points.

Game Rules

• The board has 12 pits: 10 citizen pits (5 stones each) and 2 Mandarin pits at ends (1 big stone = 10 points each)
• Each player owns 5 citizen pits on their side
• On your turn, choose a citizen pit on your side with stones, pick a direction (left or right)
• Pick up all stones from the chosen pit and drop them one by one into adjacent pits in your chosen direction
• After distributing: if the next pit is empty and the pit after has stones → capture all stones from that pit
• Chain capture: if after capturing, the next pit is empty and the following has stones → continue capturing
• If the next pit is a Mandarin pit or there are 2 consecutive empty pits → lose your turn
• If the next pit has stones (not empty) → pick up and continue distributing
• If all 5 citizen pits on your side are empty, spend 5 points to place 1 stone in each pit
• End: when both Mandarin pits are captured. Remaining stones belong to the player managing that side
• Scoring: Big stone (Mandarin) = 10 points, small stone = 1 point. Most points wins

Controls

• Click/tap a citizen pit on your side to select it
• Choose distribution direction: left or right
• Stones will be distributed automatically with animation
• Display shows turn and score for each player
• Reset button to start a new game

Tips & Strategies

• Calculate ahead to know where your last stone will land
• 'Wealthy house' strategy: accumulate many stones in one pit to create long capture chains
• Try to capture Mandarin pits early since each is worth 10 points
• Avoid leaving consecutive empty pits in front of opponent's stone-heavy pits
• Count stones to predict if your next move will result in a capture
• Protect your Mandarin pit by keeping stones in adjacent citizen pits
• Maximize chain captures to accumulate points quickly
• When running low on stones, calculate to avoid having to spend points to redistribute

Benefits of Playing Ô Ăn Quan

Ô Ăn Quan offers many cognitive and cultural benefits through its counting, distributing, and tactical calculation mechanics.

• Develops mental arithmetic and logical thinking skills
• Trains planning ability and foresight
• Improves strategic thinking through stone management
• Preserves and connects with Vietnamese folk cultural traditions
• Fun experience playing with real pebbles or seeds
• Easy to learn, but with surprisingly deep tactics
• Each game is relatively short (10-20 minutes)
• Suitable for all ages from children to adults
• Promotes mathematical thinking naturally
• No luck involved - pure strategy determines the outcome

Potential Downsides & Healthy Play Tips

Ô Ăn Quan is a very healthy game with some points to note.

Potential Issues

• Counting and calculating many stones can be challenging for beginners
• Falling behind early can feel hard to recover from
• Takes time to master tactics and foresight
• Long capture chains by opponent can be discouraging
• Lose-turn rules can sometimes surprise new players

Healthy Play Tips

• Practice counting stones and calculating moves from simple games
• Play against AI or computer to learn tactics without pressure
• Focus on understanding the capture mechanism and chain captures
• Try playing with real pebbles or seeds for the full experience
• Review moves after each game to learn from experience