Diketo: African Stone Game

Diketo is the stone game played across Southern Africa, also known as Upuca,
Magave or Puca. Ten stones sit in a shallow hole in the ground. You throw one
big stone, the gho, into the air. While it is up you move the small stones in
and out of the hole, and you catch the gho before it lands.

This is that game for your phone, with the real rules.

HOW A ROUND GOES

• Swipe up to throw the gho.
• While it is in the air, scoop every stone out of the hole.
• Throw again and sweep all but one back in. The one left out is yours.
• Keep going until the hole is empty, then pat the ground and start round
two, where you leave two out. Then three, and so on.
• Catch with too many stones out, sweep in too many, or drop the gho, and
it is a foul.

TWO WAYS TO PLAY

• Traditional rules: one round for every stone, the exact count on a single
throw, and the pat between rounds.
• Arcade rules: three quick rounds for a short game.

PASS & PLAY FOR 2 TO 4 PLAYERS

• Share one phone and take turns. A foul passes the gho to the next player.
• Each player has their own gho colour.
• Choose how many stones are in the hole, from 5 to 50.
• Play with a hole each, or share one hole: whoever wins the most stones from
it moves up a round and keeps the gho.
• Players finish in order, so every game ends with a ranking from first to
last.

MORE IN THE GAME

• A daily game with the same stones for everyone that day.
• Golden, heavy and cursed stones that change what a pile is worth.
• Combos and perfect catches for higher scores.
• Stone colours, gho colours and backgrounds to unlock as you play.
• A full How to Play guide and a short tutorial.
• Marimba music and stone sounds, each with its own switch.

WORKS WITHOUT DATA

The whole game is inside the app. There is no sign-in and no account, and you
can play with no connection at all. Your scores stay on your phone and are
never uploaded. The game is free and carries adverts, which need a connection
when they load; everything else keeps working without one. Out of lives? You
can choose to watch a short video for one more.