Bao — Bao la Kiswahili — Support

App: Bao — Bao la Kiswahili
Developer: Quyen Ngo

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Bao la Kiswahili?

Bao la Kiswahili is a traditional two-player strategy board game of the Swahili coast (Tanzania, Kenya, Zanzibar) and one of the most complex members of the mancala family. It's played on a 4×8-pit board and has two phases: namua, an opening placement phase where players seed each other's board and mandatory captures can already happen, followed by mtaji, the main relay-sowing phase with directional capture chains. This App implements the real tournament ruleset — not the simplified "Bao Kiarabu"/Sungura variant most Bao apps ship.

What are namua, mtaji, nyumba, and kichwa?

These are the game's own Kiswahili terms, kept as-is in both languages rather than translated to generic English, with a full glossary built into the App's onboarding:

• Namua — the opening phase where players alternate placing one reserve seed at a time; placing into a pit that faces a non-empty opponent pit forces an immediate capture.
• Mtaji — the main phase, once reserve seeds run out: pick a pit with 2+ seeds, choose a direction, and relay-sow around the board.
• Nyumba ("house") — a special pit that accumulates seeds all game. Starting a move from it only sows its top 2 seeds ("taxation"). Landing a capture-chain lap back in it lets you go on safari — sweep it and keep sowing, or stop your turn there.
• Kichwa ("head") — the two end pits of your row. When a capture chain must resume, it re-enters play through a kichwa; if the capturing pit is near a kichwa the resume direction is forced, otherwise you choose which kichwa to continue from.

Is this the same as the "Bao Kiarabu" game most other Bao apps have?

No — that's a deliberately simplified variant. This App implements the full tournament ruleset (namua, mandatory-capture placement, kichwa-forced capture resumption, nyumba taxation/safari, and the takasia fairness rule that stops a player from being capture-stripped down to zero legal moves), cross-checked against an independently written reference engine across millions of simulated moves for correctness. It's the differentiator this App exists for.

How does the AI opponent work?

The App includes three difficulty levels — Easy, Normal, and Hard — searching the two-phase game tree with real move generation across every kind of mid-turn decision (direction, kichwa choice, safari). Easy is free forever; Normal and Hard unlock with Bao Pro.

Can I play against a friend?

Yes. "Play vs Friend" is a local pass-and-play mode on the same device — no account, no internet connection, no second device needed. It unlocks with Bao Pro.

How do I unlock Hard AI and Play vs Friend?

These are unlocked with a single one-time purchase ("Bao Pro", $2.99). It is not a subscription — pay once, keep it forever. If you've already purchased it on this Apple ID, tap "Restore Purchases" in the unlock screen.

Does the App work offline?

Yes. The App makes no network requests at all — every game, including AI opponent moves, runs entirely on your device.

Is the App available in Kiswahili?

Yes — the entire interface, including onboarding and the in-app glossary, is available in both English and Kiswahili from the language switcher on the home screen.

I found a bug or have a suggestion

Email qngo9871@gmail.com with a description of what happened (and a screenshot if it's visual) and we'll take a look.

Kiswahili: support-sw.html