Dara - Rules, History & Strategy Guide

Dara originated with the Dakarkari people of northern Nigeria and has been played in West African villages for centuries, traditionally on grids drawn in sand using stones, sticks, or shells as pieces.

Like Nine Men's Morris and other classic alignment games, Dara captures a universal idea — three in a row to capture — but its 5×6 board and two-phase structure give it a distinct rhythm that rewards both setup and timing.

Dara has two clear phases: a placement phase where each player drops 12 pieces, then a movement phase where pieces slide one square at a time to form rows of three.

1. Players alternate placing one piece per turn into any empty square. No captures happen during placement.
2. Once both players have placed all 12 pieces, the movement phase begins.
3. On your turn, slide one of your pieces to an orthogonally adjacent empty square.
4. Whenever a slide forms a new row of exactly three of your pieces in a horizontal or vertical line, you capture one of your opponent's pieces.
5. Captured pieces are removed from the board permanently. Reduce your opponent below three pieces (or unable to form any new three-in-a-rows) to win.

• Avoid placing all your pieces in pre-formed three-in-a-rows during placement — those don't count for captures, only NEW alignments do.
• Look for "double threats" where one slide simultaneously breaks an old row and forms a new one, capturing on each move.
• Cluster your pieces near the center for maximum sliding flexibility in the movement phase.
• Watch for opponent setups two moves ahead and block them by occupying the gap.

Some West African Dara variants use 6×6 boards or vary piece counts. Diagonal three-in-a-rows are sometimes allowed but are excluded in the most common rule set used here.