Carpniches
Carpniches Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A 6x6 square board.
- 6 pieces each of white and black.
Definition
Pieces piled on top of each other in the same position are called a stack. A single piece is also a stack of height 1.
Setup
Place white and black pieces alternately stacked on the corners of the board as shown below, and assign players their color.
(Fig.1) Setup: each corner of the 6x6 board holds a stack of two pieces, one black and one white. The top piece's color alternates around the board — the top-left and bottom-right corners start with black (capybara) on top, the top-right and bottom-left corners start with white (poodle) on top.
Gameplay
The poodle (white) player goes first. Players take turns moving a piece of their color. Passing is not allowed.
Movement Rules
On your turn, you move only one of your own pieces on top of a stack. The piece moves exactly the same number of spaces as its stack height in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
If there is a stack at the destination, place the moved piece on top of it. However, you cannot move if it creates a stack of height 4. Also, pieces cannot jump over other stacks.
(Fig.2) A stack of height 1 may move exactly 1 space in any of the eight straight-line directions: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
(Fig.3) A stack of height 3 may move exactly 3 spaces in a straight line. Other stacks cannot be jumped over, so a move is blocked if a stack of any height lies in the path before reaching the destination.
Note that on their first turn only, each player may move one of their pieces in a straight line 1, 2, or 3 spaces, regardless of the height of the stack. Also, on the first turn of the second player (Capybara), they may not move their piece onto an opponent's piece just moved.
Game End
If three pieces of the same color on top of stacks align in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally without gaps, the player of that color wins immediately.
If both players achieve this state, the player who made the move loses.
A player who has no legal moves on their turn also loses.
(Fig.4) Black (Capybara) won by making 3-in-a-row.
Author's Dedications
To Judith, Alejo, and Jana.
To Belmonte, for the immense artistry of the game; to Otero, for the incredible hard work; to Ibáñez, always; and to Olcese, Frattini, and Kurchan.
Game Design (c) Germán Kijel 2025. Artworks (c) Augusto Belmonte 2025. Rulebook (c) Kanare Kato 2025.