blocking
The Board
The board consists of 5 nodes. 4 of them are arranged as the corners of the square and 1 node is in the middle. The node in the middle is connected diagonally to each corner. Each corner is connected to the two adjacent corners and also to the center node. However, the two nodes in the top left and top right corners are not connected to each other. Starting Position: The first player has his or her pieces in the top left and top right corners. The other player has his or her pieces in the bottom left and bottom right corners.
The Pieces
The pieces are 2 X's for one player and 2 O's for the other.
Rules
To move: Players move any of their pieces from its node to any connected open node.
To win: Force opponent into a position where he or she has no legal moves. In other words, the nodes where the opponents' pieces reside have no unoccupied nodes connected to them.
Players set up the board and determine who goes first. Players alternate moving their pieces to unoccupied, connected nodes until one player cannot make such a move. That player loses.
Strategies
- Reduce: Try to reduce the number of possible moves the opponent can make with every move.
Variants
- Misere: Player gets into a position where he or she cannot make any moves.
- Board Size / Node Connections: The game can be played with different board sizes and/or different connections between the nodes in the board.
Gamescrafters
- Greg Bonin
- Tanya Gordeeva