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The 6x6 board has six red squares (b3, b4, d2, d5, e2, and e5) and six yellow squares (b2, b5, c2, c5, e3, and e4). Sixteen red and sixteen yellow pieces are arranged on the board at the start of the game as shown. A move consists of either sliding a piece orthogonally, like a Chess rook, or jumping an orthogonally adjacent piece which is then captured. Multiple jumps are also allowed. Either “Same” or “Different” can move any piece, regardless of the piece’s color; but when Same makes a capture he must jump over a piece with the same color as the capturing piece; when Different makes a capture he must jump over a piece with different color from the capturing piece. If a player makes a single or multiple jump and the capturing piece ends its turn on a colored square, the player is entitled to an additional turn -- if the color of the piece and the color of the square are the same (for player “Same”) or if they are different (for player “Different”). The object is to capture 13 pieces. As far as I know the feature of having pieces that are differentiated and yet accessible to both players is unique. Chinese Chess was marketed in the early 1980’s but never made the impression of that other Gabriel game, Othello, and now seems to be out of print. I got my copy recently and haven’t played it yet. The equipment could easily be improvised, and the game wouldn’t be hard to play by e-mail. |
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