0 Materials
- 0.1 One standard eight by eight squares game board, such as one used for checkers or chess.
- 0.2 Sixteen game pieces for each player, for total of 32.
1 Setup
- 1.1 Players sit opposite from each other, with the game board square between them.
-
1.2 Each player places their pieces in two rows of eight, on the second and third rows nearest to them. That is, the nearest row is empty, and then the next two rows have their own game pieces in them. This should leave two empty rows between the players.
- 1.3 Choose a player to go first. Players alternate taking turns with their own pieces.
2 Pieces on a square.
- 2.1 A game piece starting the turn on a square
may make one of the following moves as a player's turn.
- 2.1.1 Move in one of the four cardinal directions to an adjacent empty square.
-
2.1.2 Move in one of the four cardinal directions, passing over any number of the player's own pieces or own empty 'guarded' squares (see section 3.1.) The player must stop in the first empty square he does not have 'guarded,' and may not pass over any of an opponent's pieces. (The player need not move the maximum possible distance, and can also stop in any empty square he is eligible to pass over.)
Some legal moves shown with solid arrows, and some illegal moves shown with dotted arrows - the player does not have exclusive control over all of the intervening spaces.
- 2.1.3 Move diagonally to one of the four adjacent 'corners'
(see section 3.)
-
2.1.3.1 A piece may not move to a corner if it would cause opposing player's 'guarded' squares (see section 3.1) to overlap.
The white piece has two options for a coner move. It cannot move to one of the corners on the right because that would cause guard zones to overlap.
-
3 Pieces on a corner. (The place where four square spaces intersect)
- 3.1 Pieces on a corner are said to 'guard' the four squares that intersect on that corner. (See black piece in picture under 2.1.3.1.)
- 3.2 A game piece starting the turn on a corner may make one of the following moves as a player's turn.
- 3.2.1 Move diagonally to one of it's empty 'guarded' squares.
- 3.2.2 'Divide,' which has two steps:
-
3.2.2.1 Return up to four of the active player's pieces to play - place one piece that was previously removed from play on each empty square that the dividing piece was guarding.
- 3.2.2.2 Remove the dividing piece from play.
-
4 Captures
- 4.1 When a capture occurs, all pieces involved in the capture are removed from play (so it can be debatable who is capturing who.)
-
4.2 A capture occurs when a piece on square has enemy pieces on two or more of it's 'corners'. Another way of saying this is: when a piece is on square guarded by two or more of the opposing pieces.
All of the shown pieces will be captured.
-
4.3 A capture occurs when a piece on a 'corner' has two or more opposing pieces on it's guarded squares.
All of the shown pieces will be captured.
-
4.4 A 'cross capture' occurs when there is a piece on a square and there are also pieces on the four adjacent squares. It does not matter which player controls the pieces involved. (This rule breaks a couple of unassailable formations.)
All of the shown pieces will be captured.
5 Goal
- 5.1 'Cross the board.' A player wins when one of his pieces enters a square on the farthest row (the one nearest to his opponent) and is not captured as a result.