Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

This document answers some common questions about the Aualé software. If you have questions that are not answered here, or elsewhere on our website, please feel free to write us a line.

Regarding the Game

What is oware?

Oware is a strategy game with great tradition worldwide. Similarly to other board games like chess or checkers, two players face off on a rectangular board on which they move the playing pieces in order to capture more pieces than their opponent.

How is oware played?

You can learn to play oware reading the document rules of the game, on which you will see that its gameplay is quite simple and easy to learn.

Any advice on strategy?

The document strategy and tactics of oware offers an introduction to the basic strategies of the game, so you can learn how to defeat your opponents.

About the Software

What is the Aualé software?

Aualé is a graphical interface that lets you play the oware mancala game. You can find more information about this software and its creators in the about Aualé page.

In which format are the games stored?

Aualé saves your games in a format similar to that used by most chess programs that has been adapted to mancala games, the Portable Game Notation (PGN) format. More information on this format can be found in the about Aualé section of this website.

Can I use my artificial intelligence engine with Aualé?

Yes! The only requirement is for your software to implement a version of the UCI protocol that has been adapted to oware. If you are planning on using your engine with Aualé we would love to know, please send us a message and we will try to help in any way we can.

What license is Aualé distributed under?

Aualé's source code has been released under the version 3 of the GNU General Public License.

Where can I find the source code for this program?

The source code of Aualé and the artificial intelligence engine it uses can be found in our development site. You can also get the source code of Aualé from the downloads section.

I found a bug in the software!

That's perfect! This means that there are still some things that can be improved. Head to our contact page for information on how to send us a bug report so we can fix it.