Finity Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Pieces
• How to Play
  • Objective
  • Board Setup
  • Stacking the Path Tower
  • Legal Full Paths and Partial Paths
  • Playing the Game
  • Clearing Orphan Rings
  • Ending the Game
• Other Restrictions and Special Cases
  • No Undo
  • Getting Trapped and Teleporting
  • Continuing for 2nd, 3rd Place
  • Forced Draw

Pieces

Stations (12)

Center station (1)

Bridges (32 black, 32 white)

Path indicators (6 black, 6 white)

Player markers — 1 base post and 8 each of 3 differently sized rings for each player

Blockers — 2 for each player

How to Play

Objective

The object of the game is to be the first to complete a full path from the station holding your own base post to the center station, while preventing your opponents from completing their own paths, and defending your path from attacks by your opponents.

A full path is a sequence of stations connected by black and white bridges such that the black/white color order of the bridges as they are traversed from each station to the next is the same as the pattern of black and white path indicators in the path tower, read from bottom to top. A path may cross any bridge(s) multiple times, but may pass through a station no more times than the player has rings on that station. A path cannot pass through the center station.

Board Setup

At the start of the game, the board is configured according to the number of players (2-4) with base posts in the appropriate positions and a large ring for each player on the middle station.

Stacking the Path Tower

At the start of the game, 8 path indicators are selected at random and stacked one atop the next on the center station (see below for express variant). The resulting stack of path indicators, read from bottom to top, represents the path pattern for the game. For example, a board might show the path pattern of black, white, black, white, black, black, white, white.

Legal Full Paths and Partial Paths

A legal full path begins on the station containing the player's own base post and ends on the center station, and includes exactly 8 bridge crossings in the black/white order of the path pattern. A legal path can not pass through the center station.

A player's path may pass through the same station more than once, provided that the player has at least the number of rings on the station as the number of times the path passes through that station. Each station has a maximum capacity of three differently sized rings.

Bridges are traversed in the direction they are pointing, from tail to tip. Individual bridges may be traversed any number of times. Bridges are shared resources.

A partial path is a sequence of 8 or fewer bridge crossings (beginning with the base post and followed by 8 or fewer rings) which matches the path pattern from its start, but does not complete the path pattern at the center station. Like a full path, a partial path may also pass through any given station no more times than the player has rings on that station. A player may have any number of separate partial paths on the board at a time.

Partial path example

Legal partial path bridge crossings must begin with the color of the bottommost path indicator of the path tower and in the order of the path indicators from bottom upwards on the path tower.

For example, if the path pattern in the path tower is black, white, black, white, black, black, white, white, a legal partial path for a player might begin with the station holding that player's base post, follow a black bridge to an adjacent station, follow a white bridge to a further station, follow a black bridge back to a station where the player already has two rings, and then follow a white bridge to another station. Since the sequence of bridges is black, white, black, white, following the order of the path pattern, and since there are two rings on the station that is passed through twice, this is a legal partial path.

Playing the Game

Once the board is configured for the appropriate number of players and the path tower has been stacked, play begins.

Each player takes their turn playing. At each turn, the player must make one of the following 7 moves:

• Add a bridge — The player may add a black or white bridge in an open slot between any two adjacent stations, provided that no redundant bridge (same color and direction) is already placed between the same two stations.
• Reverse a bridge — The player may reverse the direction of an existing bridge on the board, provided that the resulting bridge connection is not redundant.
• Place a ring — The player may place a ring on any station that is reachable from the player's base post via a legal path, provided that there is vacancy on the station for the ring, and the station is not currently occupied by the player's own base post.
• Move a blocker — A player may move one of their own colored blocker pieces to any open slot between any two stations on the board.
• Remove a blocker — A player may remove an opponent's blocker from the board if there are twenty bridges or more currently placed on the board. The removed blocker remains out of play for the rest of the game.
• Remove a bridge — The player may remove a bridge provided that the player has a marker in a higher position (smaller ring) than any other player's marker on the destination station (tip end) of the bridge, with base posts counting as the highest positioned markers. A bridge leading to the center station cannot be removed in one move (it can be reversed and then removed later).
• Relocate their base post — The player may move their own base post to any other station that does not currently hold another player's base post, provided that the player still will have at least one ring on the board after relocating their base post. That is, a player may not relocate their base post if doing so would render all of that player's own remaining rings orphaned or if the player does not currently have any rings on the board.

The first move of the game must not occupy or block any slot on an opponent's base post station.

Clearing Orphan Rings

Orphan rings are any rings that are not connected to their own color's base post via a legal partial path (except those placed on the center station at the beginning of the game). Rings on the same station with their own base post are not orphans.

After each move, the player who has made the move should remove all rings which have been rendered orphans, including those of the player's own color and those of other colors. Removed rings are returned to their owners and become available for continued play.

Orphan rings that have been overlooked previously must be removed as soon as they are noticed. It is in each player's interest to make sure that their own orphaned rings are not left on the board inadvertently, so they don't waste their time playing from an invalid position.

If orphaned rings are not noticed by other players until after a player has made a move that re-connects the orphan rings so that they are no longer orphans, they may remain on the board. If they are pointed out before the player has completed a move to re-connect them, even if the player intends to make such a move, they must be removed from the board immediately.

Ending the Game

The game ends when one player has laid down a complete path.

If a player completes both their own full path and an opponent's full path with a single move, the winner is the player whose path passes through the most stations. If this is equal, the winner is the player who has the most rings on the board. If this is equal, the game is a draw.

Other Restrictions and Special Cases

No Undo

It is forbidden to make a move that immediately undoes a previous move. For example, if one player reverses a bridge, the next player to move may not reverse the bridge back to its original position if nothing else on the board has changed. If the previous player's reversing the bridge had created orphan rings that were removed from the board, then reversing the bridge back is legal, because the board state has changed.

If a blocker is removed from a slot, it may not be replaced in the same slot on the immediate following move.

If a bridge is removed from the board, a bridge of the same color in either direction may not be immediately placed in the slot that the previous bridge was just removed from.

Getting Trapped and Teleporting

It is possible that a player can find themselves with their base post in a trapped position, if all adjacent stations to their base post station are completely inaccessible.

In these cases the trapped player may opt to use a turn to teleport to an empty station (a station with no rings on it) if there is such a station available. Teleportation is allowed when a player is trapped by full stations on all adjacent stations.

If there are no empty stations on the board, a trapped player is limited to bridge and blocker-related moves until a station becomes empty, or until they are no longer trapped.

Continuing for 2nd, 3rd Place

Players may continue to play for 2nd and 3rd place, leaving the winner's pieces on the board and clearing them as they become orphaned. This option should be decided in advance. Otherwise, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place is determined by the length of other players' longest partial paths.

Forced Draw

If 10 rounds of play pass with no rings added or removed from the board the game is a draw.