Kamisado Max Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Kamisado QuickStart Rules
  • Preparation
  • Aim of the Game
  • Gameplay
  • Victory
• Rules of the Game
• Equipment
• Preparation
• Object of the Game
• Special Features
• Method of Play (Single Round)
• Valid Moves
• Opening Moves
• You Must Move if You Can!
• What Happens if Your Tower is Blocked?
• Deadlock!
• The Winner!
• Advanced Game Formats
• Method of Play (Standard Match)
• Sumo Powers and Restrictions!
• Filling from the Left or Right
• When and How to Perform a 'Sumo Push'
• Scoring System for a Standard Match
• Method of Play (Long Match)
• Double Sumo Powers and Restrictions!
• Performing a 'Sumo Push' with a Double Sumo
• Scoring System for a Long Match
• Method of Play (Marathon Match)
• Triple Sumo Powers and Restrictions!
• Performing a 'Sumo Push' with a Triple Sumo
• Scoring System for a Marathon Match
• Tournament Rules

Kamisado QuickStart Rules

Preparation

Decide who plays white and who plays black. Place the board so that the corners showing the white dragons are nearest to the player using white and the black dragons are nearest to the player using black. Now place all your towers (black or white) on your Home Row (i.e. the row nearest to you) so that each tower's colour matches the square it is placed on (i.e. the brown tower on the brown square, the green tower on the green square, etc.).

Aim of the Game

To reach your opponent's Home Row with one of your towers.

Gameplay

Black starts and selects any tower for his first move. After this opening move by black, the players take turns to move one of their towers, according to the following three rules:

1. Movement

A tower can be moved any number of spaces in a straight line, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards (never sideways or backwards). It can only be moved through empty squares, and cannot be placed on a square that already contains a tower. It cannot 'jump over' another tower. A tower may move diagonally between two towers that are on squares that touch corner-to-corner.

2. Active Tower

On every turn, you must move the tower that matches the colour of the square on which your opponent's previous move ended. This is known as your 'active' tower for this move.

3. Blocking

You must move if you can. But if you can't move your active tower at all because it is completely blocked in every forward direction, your opponent can move again immediately, using the tower that matches the colour of the square that your blocked tower is 'trapped' on.

In theory, it is possible for a 'deadlock' situation to occur, where both player's towers are placed in such a way that a complete 'chain' of immovable active towers is formed. In this situation, the player who last moved a tower (creating the deadlock) loses the game.

Victory

The player who is first to reach his opponent's Home Row with one of his towers is the winner.

Rules of the Game

Number of players: 2 Age Range: 10 to adult Game Duration: 20-30 minutes (Single Round); 60-90 minutes (Standard Match); 2 to 3 hours (Long Match); 3 to 5 hours (Marathon Match)

Equipment

A playing board, divided into 64 squares in eight different colours.

The playing board is double-sided, one side being the Kamisado board, while the reverse side contains the 10 x 10 'Megasado' board.

20 octagonal 'dragon tower' playing pieces. Of these, ten towers are white, while the other ten are black. Only 16 of these are used for 'Kamisado'. The towers marked with Silver and Gold symbols are for the 'Megasado' game only.

24 clear plastic octagonal 'Dragon's tooth' tokens.

Five rulebooks, one in English and the others in German, French, Dutch and Turkish.

One additional rules booklet, in all languages, explaining the additional rules required for 'Megasado'.

Example Moves booklet.

Preparation

Place the board, with the 'Kamisado' side up, between the two players. The row nearest to each player is known as that player's 'home row'. If the board has been placed correctly, each player will have an orange square at the right-hand end of his/her home row (and a brown square at the left-hand end of his/her home row).

Note: The game works equally well with the board the other way around (with an orange square on the left and a brown square on the right). However, it has been adopted as a convention that orange should be on the right, and none of the example moves (or complete recorded matches) described later in this rulebook will work correctly if you place the board the other way round.

The more experienced player takes the white towers, while the other player takes the black towers. In any match, the player who takes the white towers for the first round will continue to use the white towers for the entire match, while his/her opponent will retain the black towers throughout the match.

Within each set (black and white) each tower is marked with a different symbol on the top. These symbols (which match those that appear on the board) actually mean Brown, Green, Red, Yellow, Pink, Purple, Blue and Orange, and each symbol is painted in the corresponding colour. So each player will now have one tower marked with each of these symbols.

These towers are referred to throughout the rest of this rulebook as 'Dragon Towers'. The dragon towers are identified throughout the rulebook by the colour of the tower (white or black) together with the colour of the symbol marked on the top. So, for example, the white tower with the red symbol on the top will be referred to as 'White's red tower', while the black tower with the yellow symbol will be called 'Black's yellow tower'.

Both players now place all their dragon towers on their own 'home row'. For the initial round, each dragon tower is placed so that the colour of the symbol on top of the tower matches the colour of the square it is placed on. So the tower marked with the brown symbol is placed on the brown square, the tower marked with the green symbol is placed on the green square etc., etc.

For subsequent rounds, the starting positions of the towers vary, and are determined by the relative positions of each player's towers at the end of the previous round. This will be dealt with later in the rules.

Object of the Game

The game is played in 'rounds'. Within each round, the object is to reach your opponent's 'home row' with one of your dragon towers (i.e. you must place one of your towers on one of the squares on your opponent's home row). The player who manages to do this first scores one point (in later rounds, two, four or even eight points may be scored for winning a round - please see further on in the rules). Before you start playing, decide which type of match you would like to play. You can choose from the following options:

• Single Round (where the first player to score 1 point is the winner)
• Standard Match (where the first player to score a total of 3 points is the winner)
• Long Match (where the first player to score a total of 7 points is the winner)
• Marathon Match (where the first player to score a total of 15 points is the winner)

Special Features

The type of match you play will determine how many special features of Kamisado you will encounter.

A Single Round match, which ends as soon as one of the players has scored one point, involves only the basic rules of Kamisado, and you only need to read the section below on 'Method of Play (Single Round)' before you can start playing.

There are also separate sections below to describe each of the longer match formats (Standard, Long and Marathon). These sections describe the additional special features which are associated with each match type, such as 'Sumo' dragon towers, and the enhanced scoring system which is used in the longer matches and the method used to set up the towers at the beginning of each new round.

Please note: Having the rules structured in this way means that you only have to read the rules up to and including the section describing the match format that you wish to play.

Method of Play (Single Round)

During each round, the players take turns to move a dragon tower, each attempting to be the first to place a dragon tower on a square within their opponent's home row.

The ways in which the dragon towers can be moved are governed by the rules set out below. This page can be used as a quick reference for all the rules for the basic game. However, in the pages that follow, fuller descriptions of these rules (and examples of their use) are provided. The diagrams that are referred to within these descriptions are to be found in the booklet 'Example Moves', supplied with this game.

Which Tower?

Rules determining which tower a player moves:

Rule T1: For the first move only in any round, the player making this move can select any of his/her eight dragon towers as the one to be moved.

Rule T2: For all subsequent moves in that round (i.e. on any move except the first), each player must move the dragon tower that matches the colour of the square on which their opponent's previous move finished.

Valid Moves

Rules determining how that tower can be moved:

Rule M1: A tower must be moved in a straight line, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards. No sideways or backwards moves are EVER allowed, except backwards moves made as a result of a 'Sumo push' (see later - not applicable to a Single Round match).

Rule M2: A tower can be moved any number of squares, but may not pass through any square that already contains a tower (either belonging to the player making the move, or to his/her opponent). A tower can even be moved directly from a square in a player's own home row to an empty space in his/her opponent's home row, provided that this move is in a straight line and there are no towers on any of the squares the tower has to pass through.

Rule M3: A tower can only be moved to a square that was previously empty (i.e. no two towers may ever occupy the same space).

Rule M4: A tower is allowed to move diagonally between two dragon towers that occupy squares that touch corner-to-corner.

Rule M5: A tower must be moved at least one square if it is at all possible to do so.

Rule M6: If it is impossible to move the required tower in any way (i.e. if it is completely blocked from moving forwards or diagonally forwards), the player whose turn it is to move that tower has to miss that turn, and his/her opponent moves again immediately. For further detail see below.

Rule M7: The round finishes as soon as either player succeeds in moving one tower to any square within their opponent's 'home row'. That player has now 'won' that round.

Rule M8: It is possible, although extremely unlikely, to get a situation where both players have towers which are completely blocked so that they cannot be moved, and for these towers to interact to form a 'deadlock' situation where no further towers can be moved at all. In this situation, the player who made the last move prior to the occurrence of the deadlock situation (i.e. the player who 'caused' the deadlock) is considered to have lost the round, and his/her opponent is the winner of that round.

The examples below are provided to help you to understand the 'mechanics' of Kamisado. Reading through these examples should give a clearer picture of how all the rules specified above actually work. While reading these examples, you should refer to the diagrams in the separate booklet 'Example Moves', which is provided with the game.

Opening Moves

In the example opening that follows, Alain is playing against Johan. Alain, being the more experienced player, takes the white dragon towers. As Johan is the less experienced player, he uses the black dragon towers and has the first move of the round. (In the first round of any match, the player using the black dragon towers moves first). In any round, the player that moves first is known as the Challenger. The other player is known as the Defender for that round. The player using the black towers is always the Challenger in the first round of any match. In subsequent rounds, the player who lost the previous round is always the Challenger and takes the first move, while the player who won the previous round is now the Defender.

For his first move, Johan can select any of his eight towers (see Rule T1). Having selected a tower, he can move this tower any number of spaces directly forwards or diagonally forwards (see Rule M1). If Johan chooses to move his pink tower first, then the possible opening moves for this tower are as shown in Figure 1(a). (See the separate booklet 'Example Moves'). Alternatively, if Johan chooses to move his red tower, the moves available are as shown in Figure 1(b).

After Johan's initial move (which involved him having a choice of tower), players take turns to move their dragon towers. Each player, on any given move, must use the tower whose symbol matches the colour of the square on which their opponent's previous move finished. So if Johan moves his red tower to a blue square, as shown in Figure 2(a), then Alain's first move must be with his blue tower (see Rule T2). Once again, this tower may be moved any number of squares in a straight line, either directly or diagonally forwards, provided it does not pass through any squares occupied by other towers belonging to either player (see Rule M2). The selection of squares that Alain is allowed to move his blue tower to is shown in Figure 2(b). Remember that moves must finish on an unoccupied square (see Rule M3) and that moves can never be backwards or sideways (see Rule M1).

If Alain moves his blue tower to the yellow square (shown in Figure 2(c)), then Johan's next move must be with his yellow tower and the moves available to him are shown in Figure 2(d). Figure 2(e) shows Johan's move as being to a purple square, while Figure 2(f) shows all of Alain's possible responses with his purple tower. Figure 2(g) shows Alain moving his purple tower to a green square. Following on from this, Figures 2(h) and 2(i) display Johan's potential moves and his actual move to an orange square. Figures 2(j) and 2(k) show Alain's options at this point and his actual move (5 spaces forwards to a blue square). Figure 2(l) shows Johan's options with his blue tower on his next turn.

You Must Move if You Can!

A tower must be moved at least one square if it is possible to do so (Rule M5).

Figure 3(a) Helmut has moved his brown tower forward two spaces to a blue square.

Figure 3(b) Steve must then move his blue tower. The only space that he can move this tower to is the pink square as shown in this diagram. Steve must make this move. He cannot choose to leave his blue tower where it is and 'pass' on this turn. The only time a player misses his/her turn without moving a tower is when there is no possible move for that tower (see the examples in Figures 4(a) to 4(c) and 5(a) to 5(f) below).

Figure 3(c) In this particular example, Helmut can now win the round by moving his pink tower three spaces forwards to the blue square in Steve's home row.

What Happens if Your Tower is Blocked?

A player who finds that the tower he/she is supposed to be moving is completely blocked (i.e. this tower cannot be moved at all, either forwards or diagonally forwards) must forfeit his/her turn (Rule M6). Although his/her tower remained on the same spot, it is considered that this dragon tower has made a (zero-length) move that finished on this square. This means that this player's opponent will move again, using the tower whose symbol's colour matches the square on which the blocked player's dragon tower was trapped.

An example of a tower being blocked is illustrated in Figures 4(a) to 4(c).

Figure 4(a) Amy's brown tower has just moved forward four spaces to a green square.

Figure 4(b) Chris must now move his green tower, if possible. However, this tower is completely blocked by Amy's red and yellow towers and by his own brown tower. No movement is possible, so Chris has to forfeit this turn. Note that Chris's tower is trapped on a yellow square.

Figure 4(c) Amy takes the next turn, and because Chris's green tower was trapped on a yellow square, Amy will use her yellow tower for this turn. In this particular example, Amy can move her yellow tower three spaces forwards onto Chris's 'home row' and win the round (Rule M7).

A more complex example can be seen in Figures 5(a) to 5(f).

Figure 5(a) Daniel's blue tower has just moved forward five spaces onto a green square.

Figure 5(b) Vlora must move her green tower, if possible. However, this piece is completely blocked and she has no forward move. Vlora must forfeit her turn. Note that Vlora's green tower is trapped on a yellow square.

Figure 5(c) Daniel takes the next move, using his yellow tower, because Vlora's tower was trapped on a yellow square. But Daniel's yellow tower is completely blocked as well, so he must also forfeit his turn. Note that his yellow tower is trapped on a blue square.

Figure 5(d) Vlora now moves her blue tower (because that is the colour of square that Daniel was trapped on) forward three squares to a yellow square.

Figure 5(e) Daniel's yellow tower is still trapped on the same blue square, so he has to forfeit his turn again.

Figure 5(f) Vlora can now move her blue tower diagonally forwards two squares to a space on Daniel's home row to win the round.

Deadlock!

It is possible to get situations where neither player can move any of his/her towers in a sequence of moves that repeat indefinitely (Rule M8). These are known as 'Deadlock' situations. When a deadlock situation occurs, the last person to move a tower before the deadlock occurs loses that round! (i.e. the last player to have moved is adjudged to have 'caused' the deadlock - even if they were forced to do so). Deadlock situations are extremely rare, partly because players are careful not to cause them. They can involve a 'perpetually repeating sequence' of two dragon towers (one belonging to each player), or four towers, or six, or more.

Figures 6(a) to 6(e) illustrate a deadlock situation.

Figure 6(a) Wolfgang's blue tower has just moved forward one space to a green square.

Figure 6(b) Ralf must now move his green tower. There is only one space he can move it to, the red one diagonally to the right. To comply with Rule M5, he must move at least one space, if it is possible to do so. So he is forced to move to this red square.

Figure 6(c) Wolfgang must now move his red tower, but this tower is completely blocked by his own brown tower and by Ralf's pink and purple towers. So he must forfeit his turn. Note that his red tower is trapped on a green square.

Figure 6(d) It is now Ralf's move again immediately, with his green tower. His green tower is also blocked, by his own red tower and by Wolfgang's yellow and orange towers. He is trapped on a red square.

Figure 6(e) Once again, Wolfgang needs to move his red tower but it is still blocked and trapped on a green square. It is easy to see that we now have a 'Deadlock' situation where the sequence of moves repeats indefinitely, but neither player is able to move. Because Ralf was the last player to actually move a tower, he is considered to have 'caused' the deadlock, and so he loses the round and Wolfgang is the winner.

The Winner!

When you are playing up to one point (Single Round), the game is over as soon as one player moves a dragon tower to his/her opponent's 'home row'. This player will be the winner.

If you wish, you can play a series of single-round games (starting each time with each tower on the square that matches it). Score one point for each game, and take turns to play the first move.

Advanced Game Formats

However, if players have agreed to play up to 3, 7 or even 15 points, then play moves into a phase which goes beyond the 'Initial Round' as described above. In the rules that follow, each type of match is described separately, but the main new features that are introduced in matches are:

• Advanced set-up positions
• The concept of a 'Sumo' dragon tower
• 'Sumo Push' moves
• The scoring system for a Standard Match
• The concept of a 'Double Sumo' dragon tower
• 'Double Sumo Push' moves
• The scoring system for a Long Match
• The concept of a 'Triple Sumo' dragon tower
• 'Triple Sumo Push' moves
• The scoring system for a Marathon Match

These are described in full in the following sections:

Method of Play (Standard Match)

A Standard Match is played up to 3 points (i.e. the first player to score 3 points is the winner). The match starts by playing an 'Initial Round', exactly as described above for Single Round play.

After the end of this first round (and subsequent rounds), two important things will happen:

A 'Sumo' is Born! The player who won the first (or previous) round places an octagonal 'dragon's tooth' on the top of the dragon tower that went through to a square on the opponent's 'home row'. This tower is now known as a 'Sumo' dragon tower. It is restricted in terms of the number of spaces it can move, but it has special powers that allow it to make a move called a 'Sumo Push'. Both these aspects of Sumo towers are discussed in the sections below. Note: If the first (or previous) round ended in a 'deadlock' situation, then the player who did not cause the deadlock places an octagonal 'dragon's tooth' on the tower that matches the colour of the square that his/her opponent last moved to. In the 'deadlock' example described above (Figures 6(a) to 6(e)), Wolfgang takes a dragon's tooth and places it on his red tower (because that is the colour of the square that Ralf last moved to).

The Dragon Towers Regroup! The towers are returned to each player's home row, ready for the next round. The order in which the towers are lined up for this new round is determined by the player who won the first (or previous) round, who can now choose to "fill from the left" or "fill from the right". This is described in detail below. After this player has filled from the left or right, then his/her opponent must fill in the same direction.

The methods by which the dragon towers are rearranged at the beginning of each new round are governed by the rules set out below. This page can be used as a quick reference for all the rules which apply in a Standard Match (over and above those already used in the basic game). However, in the pages that follow, fuller descriptions of these rules (and examples of their use) are provided. The diagrams that are referred to within these descriptions are to be found in the booklet 'Example Moves', supplied with this game:

Filling your home row

Rules governing filling from left or right:

Rule F1: The player who won the previous round (the Defender in the new round) chooses whether to fill from the left or from the right.

Rule F2: The player who lost the previous round (the Challenger in this new round) is then obliged to fill in the same direction as the Defender.

Rule F3: If the Defender chooses to fill from the left, each player (Defender first, followed by Challenger) selects one tower at a time in an order determined by the row each tower is in and the position of each tower within each row (see below), and places each in turn on the squares within his/her home row, starting with the brown square on the left-hand side, and working across to the orange square on the right-hand side.

Rule F4: If the Defender chooses to fill from the right, each player (Defender first, followed by Challenger) selects one tower at a time in an order determined by the row each tower is in and the position of each tower within each row (see below), and places each in turn on the squares within his/her home row, starting with the orange square on the right-hand side, and working across to the brown square on the left-hand side.

Sumo Powers and Restrictions!

Rules applying to Sumo dragon towers:

Rule S1: A Sumo tower is stronger, but slower than a normal dragon tower. It may be moved up to a maximum of 5 spaces in a straight line, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards. This restriction on movement can sometimes be critical, especially if it prevents the Sumo tower from reaching the opponent's home row, in situations where it starts its move six or seven spaces from the opponent's home row.

Rule S2: Because a Sumo tower is stronger than a normal tower, it may perform a move called a 'Sumo push' on an opponent's normal tower. For this to happen, the opponent's normal dragon tower must, at the beginning of the player's turn, be on the square immediately in front of the Sumo tower, and the opponent must have ended his/her previous move on a square whose colour matches the colour of the Sumo tower. When this happens, the player has the option of using a Sumo push on the opponent's tower. This means that the Sumo tower will move one space forwards, pushing the opponent's tower one square backwards as it goes.

Rule S3: Immediately after the Sumo push, the opponent misses his/her turn, and the original player (i.e. the one who made the Sumo push) moves again straight away, using the dragon tower whose symbol matches the colour of the square that the opponent's tower was pushed onto.

Rule S4: A Sumo push cannot be made diagonally. The pushed piece must be on the square immediately in front of the Sumo, at the beginning of the turn when the push occurs.

Rule S5: There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed piece for this piece to be pushed into. The colour of this square determines what colour tower the player moves next, after his/her opponent has forfeited their next turn.

Rule S6: A Sumo cannot push a piece if that piece is on its own home row (i.e. it cannot push a piece 'off the board').

Rule S7: A Sumo cannot push more than one piece backwards at the same time.

Rule S8: A Sumo cannot push another Sumo.

Rule S9: A player can only perform Sumo pushes on his/her opponent's pieces, not his/her own.

Rule S10: A Sumo push is an option that the player is not obliged to use, if there are alternative diagonally forward moves that bypass the piece which could be pushed.

Rule S11: However, if the Sumo push is the only move available with the tower concerned, then the player is forced to make the Sumo push (i.e. the player is not allowed to 'pass' on his/her move and do nothing if a Sumo push is an available option). If this happens, the player must play the Sumo push move, and is not allowed to do nothing on that turn.

Filling from the Left or Right

For the second and subsequent rounds of any match, the towers do not start the round 'on their own colour'. They can be set up in one of two ways, determined by the player who won the previous round.

This player will be the Defender in the new round and can choose to either:

• Fill from the left (if he/she fills from the left then his/her opponent must also fill from the left)
• Fill from the right (if he/she fills from the right then his/her opponent must also fill from the right)

Choice of filling from the left or right gives the Defender two set-up options. This helps him/her to avoid weak positions that the Challenger can attack easily. As you play more Kamisado, you will learn what these positions are. You will attempt to avoid creating them when you are the Defender and try to identify and attack them when you are the Challenger.

In the following example, Alain has just beaten David in the first round of a Standard Match, and must decide whether to fill from the left or right. The possible outcomes are illustrated in Figures 7(a) to 7(h).

Figure 7(a) Alain's purple tower has just moved five spaces diagonally forwards to a square on David's home row. Alain has won the first round. A dragon's tooth is placed on Alain's purple tower to indicate that this is now a Sumo tower. Dragon's teeth also act as the scoring system for the game. This dragon's tooth acts as a permanent indication that Alain has scored one point. He must now decide whether to fill from the left or from the right in preparation for the next round, for which he will act as Defender. Figures 7(b) to 7(d) show what will happen if he chooses to fill from the left. Figures 7(e) to 7(g) show what happens if he fills from the right.

Figure 7(b) Suppose Alain has chosen to fill from the left. This means that he must place his towers on the squares in his home row in the following order: brown square, green square, red square, yellow square, pink square, purple square, blue square and lastly the orange square. The order in which the towers are chosen to occupy these positions is determined by their positions at the end of the previous round; firstly by which row they finished in; and secondly by which are the furthest to the left in each row. The board in this diagram is labelled from Alain's perspective. His home row is marked, and the other rows are labelled 'row 2', 'row 3', row 4'... up to 'row 8' which is furthest from Alain and is therefore David's home row. The order in which he must use his towers to fill these squares is indicated by the number marked on each tower. Alain must first reposition the towers that remain on his home row across to the left as far as they will go. So taking the leftmost first:

• His brown tower (1) is placed on the brown square (it's already there, so no action is required)
• His blue tower (2) is placed on the green square

Now Alain must reposition the towers that are on the other rows. Row 2 and row 3 are empty. Row 4 contains his orange tower so:

• His orange tower (3) is placed on the red square

Row 5 contains his red and pink towers. So, taking the leftmost first:

• His red tower (4) is placed on the yellow square
• His pink tower (5) is placed on the pink square

Row 6 contains his yellow tower so:

• His yellow tower (6) is placed on the purple square

Row 7 contains his green tower so:

• His green tower (7) is placed on the blue square

Row 8 contains his purple (Sumo) tower so:

• His purple tower (8) is placed on the orange square

This completes Alain's rearranged line-up for the new round.

Figure 7(c) Now David must also rearrange his towers by filling from the left. There is no choice involved here. The Challenger must always fill in the same direction as the Defender. This diagram shows Alain's pieces as already filled from the left by the method described above, with his home row shown at the top, and rows 2 through to 8 running downwards. Remember that from David's perspective, left is in the opposite direction, so filling from the left will again mean filling squares in the order brown square, green square, red square, yellow square, pink square, purple square, blue square and lastly the orange square. The order in which he must use his towers to fill these squares is indicated in the diagram by the number marked on each tower. David first moves each of the towers already on his home row, one by one, to the left, moving the leftmost first.

• His green tower (1) is placed on the brown square
• His red tower (2) is placed on the green square
• The yellow tower (3) is placed on the red square

David must now reposition the towers that are on the other rows. Row 2 is empty. Row 3 contains his pink tower so:

• His pink tower (4) is placed on the yellow square

Row 4 contains his brown and orange towers so, taking the leftmost first:

• His brown tower (5) is placed on the pink square
• His orange tower (6) is placed on the purple square

Row 5 is empty. Row 6 contains his blue tower so:

• His blue tower (7) is placed on the blue square

Row 7 contains his purple tower so:

• His purple tower (8) is placed on the orange square

This now completes David's line-up of towers on his home row for the new round.

Figure 7(d) Here, both sets of towers are shown re-arranged on their own home rows, after both players have 'filled from the left'.

Now suppose Alain has chosen to fill from the right instead.

Figure 7(e) The towers are rearranged in the home row starting at the opposite side (i.e. from the right). So the towers must be placed on the squares on the home row in the following order: orange square, blue square, purple square, pink square, yellow square, red square, green square and lastly the brown square on the left. Once again, the numbers on the towers in the diagram show the order in which the towers are selected for placement in the home row. The rows are numbered from Alain's perspective. Once again the towers already in the home row are moved first, and they are shifted as far as they will go to the right, starting with the one that is already furthest to the right.

• His blue tower (1) is placed on the orange square
• His brown tower (2) is placed on the blue square

Now Alain must reposition the towers that are on the other rows. Row 2 and row 3 are empty. Row 4 contains his orange tower so:

• His orange tower (3) is placed on the purple square

Row 5 contains his pink and red towers. So, taking the rightmost first:

• His pink tower (4) is placed on the pink square
• His red tower (5) is placed on the yellow square

Row 6 contains his yellow tower so:

• His yellow tower (6) is placed on the red square

Row 7 contains his green tower so:

• His green tower (7) is placed on the green square

Row 8 contains his purple (Sumo) tower so:

• His purple tower (8) is placed on the brown square

This completes Alain's rearranged line-up for the new round (filled right).

Figure 7(f) Here, the positions of Alain's towers after he has filled them from the right are shown. David must now fill from the right (which again means that the first tower will be placed on the orange square). Once again, the numbers on the towers in the diagram show the order in which the towers are selected for placement in the home row. Now the rows are numbered from David's perspective. He will move the towers in the order shown by the numbers in the diagram, to the spaces on his home row, starting with the rightmost (orange) square, and working all the way across until the last tower (the purple one on row 7) is moved to the last square on David's home row (i.e. the brown square).

Figure 7(g) Here, both sets of towers are shown re-arranged on their own home rows, after both players have 'filled from the right'.

Figure 7(h) This example was taken from a real match. Alain actually chose to fill from the left, as shown in this diagram. This was probably the better choice. You will see from Figure 7(g) that filling from the right would have left Alain's yellow tower in a position where it had a yellow square immediately in front of it. This would have been a weak spot in his defence that David may have chosen to attack. Remember that a Sumo dragon tower has a maximum range of five spaces (Rule S1). This diagram shows the possible moves open to Alain with his purple Sumo dragon tower, should David decide to play to a purple square on his opening move.

When and How to Perform a 'Sumo Push'

Please refer to the section entitled 'Sumo powers and restrictions!' when looking at the 'Sumo Push' examples provided below. Remember that the tower to be pushed by the Sumo tower must be directly in front of the Sumo tower (Rule S2), NOT diagonally in front (Rule S4). There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed tower, for this tower to be pushed into (Rule S5). The tower to be pushed must not be on its own home row (Rule S6). The tower to be pushed must be an 'ordinary' dragon tower and NOT a Sumo (Rule S8). The tower to be pushed must be one of the opponent's towers (Rule S9).

Figures 8(a) to 8(f) show examples of situations in which Sumo Pushes can be carried out.

Figure 8(a) Alain has moved his orange tower diagonally forwards two spaces to a purple square.

Figure 8(b) Pete must then move his purple tower, which is a Sumo. If he wishes, he can play a 'normal' diagonal move to either a purple or a green square (Rule S10).

Figure 8(c) Alternatively, he also has the option of playing a Sumo Push, by moving his purple tower directly forwards one space, and in the process pushing Alain's red tower backwards one space, onto a yellow square (Rule S2).

Figure 8(d) Because Alain's tower was 'Sumo-pushed', he misses a turn and Pete moves again immediately. Because Alain's tower was pushed onto a yellow square, Pete uses his yellow tower for this next move. The selection of moves that are available to his yellow piece are shown in this figure.

Figure 8(e) In this diagram, an alternative scenario is shown. Alain has moved his orange tower diagonally forwards four spaces to a purple square (instead of just two spaces as in Figure 8(a)).

Figure 8(f) Pete now must make a Sumo Push move (once again advancing his purple tower one space, and pushing Alain's red tower back one space onto the yellow square). Pete has no choice here. There is no option available here to 'pass' on this turn (Rule S11). As in the previous example, Pete moves again immediately with his yellow tower, because Alain's tower was 'Sumo-pushed' backwards onto a yellow square. The choice of moves available to Pete with the yellow tower is the same as before.

Scoring System for a Standard Match

A Standard Match is played up to 3 points (i.e. the first player to score 3 points is the winner). Each time a round is won by either player, a dragon's tooth is placed on the tower that reached the opponent's home row. The first dragon's tooth to be placed on a tower, marking that tower as a Sumo tower, is worth one point to its owner. However, the second dragon's tooth to be placed on a tower, marking it as a 'Double Sumo' tower, is worth two points. So if you reach your opponent's home row with a Sumo tower, it becomes a Double Sumo, worth a total of three points (one point for the first tooth plus two points for the second tooth).

So the winner of a Standard Match will be either:

• The first player to obtain three separate Sumo dragon towers
• The first player to obtain a Double Sumo dragon tower, as a result of placing a Sumo tower on his/her opponent's home row

Note: Please note that the dragon's teeth provide a very simple and visible scoring system for the game. When you look at any game in progress, you can easily calculate the score by counting the number of Sumo towers each player has. Please also note that while it is possible to create a Double Sumo tower in a Standard Match, that match will be finished as soon as the second dragon's tooth is added to the tower. So Double Sumos never get to play an active part in Standard Matches, although they can play an important role in Long Matches and Marathon Matches (see below).

Method of Play (Long Match)

A Long Match is played up to 7 points (i.e. the first player to score 7 points is the winner). The match starts by playing an 'Initial Round', exactly as described above for Single Round play.

After the end of this first round (and subsequent rounds), two important things will happen:

A 'Sumo' (or 'Double Sumo') is Born! The player who won the first (or previous) round places an octagonal 'dragon's tooth' on the appropriate dragon tower (as described for a Standard Match). But if the tower is already a Sumo tower, then a second dragon's tooth is added to the top of it. This tower is now known as a 'Double Sumo' dragon tower (see below).

The Dragon Towers Regroup! The towers are returned to their home rows, exactly as for a Standard Match. The Defender has the choice of whether to fill from the left or the right, and then the Challenger must fill from the same direction as the Defender.

Double Sumo Powers and Restrictions!

Rules remain the same as above for Sumo dragon towers. Extra Rules now apply to Double Sumo dragon towers:

Rule DS1: A Double Sumo tower is stronger, but slower than a 'normal' dragon tower or a Sumo dragon tower. It may be moved up to a maximum of 3 spaces in a straight line, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards.

Rule DS2: Because a Double Sumo tower is stronger than a normal tower or a Sumo tower, it may perform a 'Sumo push' on either one or two of the opponent's towers. This means that the Double Sumo tower will move one space forwards, pushing the opponent's tower(s) one square backwards as it goes.

Rule DS3: Immediately after the Sumo push, the opponent misses his/her turn, and the original player (i.e. the one who made the Sumo push) moves again straight away, using the dragon tower whose symbol's colour matches the colour of the square that the opponent's tower was pushed onto. If two towers were pushed, the player uses the dragon tower that matches the colour of square that the 'further' of the two dragon towers was pushed onto (i.e. it is always the colour of the 'empty square' behind the 'pushed' towers that is significant - see also Rule DS5 below).

Rule DS4: A Double Sumo cannot make Sumo pushes diagonally.

Rule DS5: There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed piece(s) to allow the pieces to be pushed.

Rule DS6: A Double Sumo cannot push a piece if that piece is on its home row (i.e. it cannot push a piece 'off the board').

Rule DS7: A Double Sumo cannot push more than two pieces backwards at the same time.

Rule DS8: A Double Sumo cannot push another Double Sumo. However, it can push any two towers, provided that these towers are either 'ordinary' dragon towers, or Sumo towers. This means that it is capable of pushing (a maximum of) two Sumo towers backwards in one move.

Performing a 'Sumo Push' with a Double Sumo

Please refer to the section entitled 'Double Sumo powers and restrictions!' when looking at the "Sumo Push" examples provided below. Remember that the tower(s) to be pushed by the Double Sumo tower must be directly in front of the Double Sumo tower (Rule DS2), NOT diagonally in front (Rule DS4). There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed tower(s), for the tower(s) to be pushed into (Rule DS5). None of the towers to be pushed may be on their own home row (Rule DS6). The tower(s) to be pushed must be 'ordinary' dragon tower(s) or Sumo(s) (Rule DS8). The tower(s) to be pushed must belong to the opponent (Rule S9).

Figures 9(a) to 9(e) show examples of Sumo Pushes using Double Sumo towers in a long match.

Figure 9(a) Alan has moved his pink tower diagonally forwards one space to a green square.

Figure 9(b) Ludmilla must then move her green tower, which is a Double Sumo. If she wishes, she can play a 'normal' diagonal move to either a blue, a pink or a red square (Rule S10). Alternatively, she also has the option of playing a Sumo Push, by moving her green tower directly forwards one space, and in the process pushing Alan's blue tower and yellow (Sumo) tower backwards one space, so that the 'further' tower (the yellow one) is pushed onto a green square (Rule DS2).

Figure 9(c) Because Alan's tower was 'Sumo-pushed', he misses a turn and Ludmilla moves again immediately. Because Alan's 'further' tower was pushed onto a green square, Ludmilla uses her green Double Sumo tower again for this next move. This means that she moves her green tower directly forwards one space, pushing Alan's blue and yellow towers backwards one space, so that the yellow tower is now pushed onto a pink square.

Figure 9(d) Again, Alan must miss his turn, and Ludmilla moves again immediately, using her pink Sumo tower (Rule DS3). She can move this tower three spaces forwards onto Alan's home row, winning the round and scoring two points (which then wins her the match by seven points to three).

Figure 9(e) However, another option would be for Ludmilla, after the first Sumo push (instead of making the second push) to move her green Double Sumo tower diagonally left three spaces onto Alan's home row (Rule S10). As this finish is with a Double Sumo, it would score four points instead of two, and would win the match by nine points to three.

Scoring System for a Long Match

A Long Match is played up to 7 points (i.e. the first player to score 7 points is the winner). Each time a round is won by either player, a dragon's tooth is placed on the tower that reached the opponent's home row. The first dragon's tooth to be placed on a tower, marking that tower as a Sumo tower, is worth one point to its owner. However, the second tooth to be placed on a tower, marking it as a 'Double Sumo' tower, is worth two points. So if you reach your opponent's home row with a Sumo tower, it becomes a Double Sumo, worth a total of three points (one point for the first tooth plus two points for the second tooth). If you reach your opponent's home row with a Double Sumo tower, then a third tooth is added to this tower. The tower is now a Triple Sumo, and the third tooth placed on it is worth four points. So the total value of a Triple Sumo tower is seven points (one point for the first tooth, two points for the second tooth and four points for the third).

So the winner of a Long Match will be either:

• The first player to obtain seven separate Sumo dragon towers.
• The first person to be able to accumulate seven or more points from Sumo and Double Sumo dragon towers (remembering that Double Sumo towers are each worth three points in total).
• The first player to obtain a Triple Sumo tower, as a result of placing a Double Sumo tower on his/her opponent's home row.

Note: Please note that while it is possible to create a Triple Sumo tower in a Long Match, that match will be finished as soon as the third dragon's tooth is added to the tower. So Triple Sumos never get to play an active part in Long Matches, although they can play an important role in Marathon Matches (see below).

Method of Play (Marathon Match)

A Marathon Match is played up to 15 points (i.e. the first player to score 15 points is the winner). The match starts by playing an 'Initial Round', exactly as described above for Single Round play. After the end of this first round (and subsequent rounds), two important things will happen:

A 'Sumo' (or 'Double Sumo' or 'Triple Sumo') is Born! The player who won the first (or previous) round places an octagonal 'dragon's tooth' on the appropriate dragon tower (as described for a Standard or Long Match). But if the tower is already a Sumo tower, then a second dragon's tooth will be added. This tower is now known as a 'Double Sumo' dragon tower. If the tower is already a Double Sumo tower, then a third dragon's tooth will be added. This tower is now known as a 'Triple Sumo' dragon tower (see below).

The Dragon Towers Regroup! The towers are returned to their home rows, exactly as for a Standard or Long Match.

Triple Sumo Powers and Restrictions!

Rules remain the same as above for Sumo and Double Sumo dragon towers. Extra Rules now apply for Triple Sumo dragon towers:

Rule TS1: A Triple Sumo tower is stronger, but slower than a 'normal' dragon tower, a Sumo dragon tower or a Double Sumo dragon tower. It may be moved one space only, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards.

Rule TS2: Because a Triple Sumo tower is stronger than a normal tower, a Sumo tower, or a Double Sumo tower, it may perform a 'Sumo push' on either one, two or three of the opponent's towers. This means that the Triple Sumo tower will move one space forwards, pushing the opponent's tower(s) one square backwards as it goes.

Rule TS3: Immediately after the Sumo push, the opponent misses his/her turn, and the original player (i.e. the one who made the Sumo push) moves again straight away, using the dragon tower whose colour matches the square that the opponent's tower was pushed onto. If two or three towers were pushed, the player uses the dragon tower that matches the colour of square that the 'furthest' of the dragon towers was pushed onto (it is always the colour of the 'empty square' behind the 'pushed' towers that is significant - see Rule TS5).

Rule TS4: A Triple Sumo cannot make Sumo pushes diagonally.

Rule TS5: There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed piece(s) to allow the pieces to be pushed.

Rule TS6: A Triple Sumo cannot push a piece if that piece is on its home row (i.e. it cannot push a piece 'off the board').

Rule TS7: A Triple Sumo cannot push more than three pieces backwards at the same time.

Rule TS8: A Triple Sumo cannot push another Triple Sumo. However, it can push two or even three towers, provided that these towers are either 'ordinary' dragon towers, Sumo towers or Double Sumo towers. This means that it is capable of pushing (a maximum of) three Double Sumo towers backwards in one move.

Performing a 'Sumo Push' with a Triple Sumo

Please refer to the section entitled 'Triple Sumo powers and restrictions!' when looking at the "Sumo Push" examples provided below. Remember that the tower(s) to be pushed by the Triple Sumo tower must be directly in front of the Triple Sumo tower (Rule TS2), NOT diagonally in front (Rule TS4). There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed tower(s), for the tower(s) to be pushed into (Rule TS5). None of the towers to be pushed may be on their own home row (Rule TS6). The tower(s) to be pushed must be 'ordinary' dragon tower(s), Sumos or Double Sumos (Rule TS8). The tower(s) to be pushed must belong to the opponent (Rule S9).

Figures 10(a) to 10(l) catalogue an interesting and dynamic end to a match ('Sanjay's Big Finish').

Figure 10(a) Johan has moved his red Double Sumo tower forwards three spaces to a yellow square.

Figure 10(b) Sanjay can now make a Sumo push with his yellow Triple Sumo tower. His tower pushes Johan's orange, brown and green towers one square backwards (Rule TS2). The 'furthest' (the green tower) is pushed onto the empty blue square (Rule TS3).

Figure 10(c) Johan must now forfeit his turn. Sanjay must move again with his blue Double Sumo tower. Although there are options here for him to make a diagonal move, he chooses to perform a Sumo push on Johan's yellow Sumo tower. He pushes this tower one space backwards onto a yellow square (Rule S2).

Figure 10(d) Again, Johan has to forfeit his move. Sanjay makes another Sumo push with his yellow Triple Sumo tower. Note that although this tower has a clear route to Johan's home row on the orange diagonal, it has a maximum range of only one space, so it can't reach the back line, which is four spaces away (Rule TS1). Instead, it pushes Johan's orange, brown and green towers back another space. This time the green tower is pushed onto a yellow square (Rule TS3).

Figure 10(e) So Sanjay can move his yellow tower again. Johan's green tower has now been pushed right back onto his home row, so Sanjay cannot make another Sumo push with his yellow Triple Sumo tower (Rule TS6). It is not possible to make a Sumo push diagonally (Rule TS4). So the only option available to Sanjay is to move one space diagonally left onto a red square. Once again, the yellow tower can't go any further than this, as it has a maximum range of one square and it can't reach Johan's back row (Rule TS1).

Figure 10(f) So Johan must move his red tower. This move will have to be onto one of two yellow squares. He can't use a Sumo Push because the tower in front of the red tower is his own (Rule S9).

Figure 10(g) Sanjay now has yet another turn with his yellow Triple Sumo tower. He still can't reach Johan's back row (using a diagonal move) because it has a range of only one square. So he uses a Sumo Push to push Johan's purple tower onto the pink square.

Figure 10(h) Johan forfeits his next turn, and Sanjay must now move his pink tower. Because it is Double Sumo, it has a range of only three squares and so cannot reach Johan's back row. Moving to pink or orange will lose Sanjay the round, so he must play to purple.

Figure 10(i) Johan now has a choice of three pink squares. He must choose the one that blocks Sanjay's pink tower, or he will lose the round (and the match).

Figure 10(j) However, Sanjay now uses his pink tower to Sumo Push Johan's purple tower backwards onto the orange square.

Figure 10(k) Johan forfeits his turn and Sanjay uses his orange tower to Sumo Push Johan's blue tower onto a yellow square.

Figure 10(l) Once again, Johan must forfeit his turn, and Sanjay can now win the match by moving his yellow Triple Sumo tower one space forwards onto Johan's home row. Although he only needed one point to reach the required total of fifteen, he has now won in style by scoring eight points for reaching the other side of the board with his Triple Sumo tower!

Scoring System for a Marathon Match

A Marathon Match is played up to 15 points (i.e. the first player to score 15 points is the winner). Each time a round is won by either player, a dragon's tooth is placed on the tower that reached the opponent's home row. The first dragon's tooth to be placed on a tower, marking that tower as a Sumo tower, is worth one point to its owner. However, the second tooth to be placed on a tower, marking it as a 'Double Sumo' tower, is worth two points. So if you reach your opponent's home row with a Sumo tower, it becomes a Double Sumo, worth a total of three points (one point for the first tooth plus two points for the second tooth). If you reach your opponent's home row with a Double Sumo tower, then a third tooth is added to this tower. The tower is now a Triple Sumo, and the third tooth placed on it is worth four points. So the total value of a Triple Sumo tower is seven points (one point for the first tooth, two points for the second tooth and four points for the third). If you reach your opponent's home row with a Triple Sumo tower, you will score an extra eight points, and automatically win the match (a Triple Sumo is already worth seven points, so this tower alone will score you the required fifteen points).

So the winner of a Marathon Match will be either:

• The first person to be able to accumulate fifteen or more points from Sumo, Double Sumo and Triple Sumo dragon towers (remembering that Double Sumo towers are each worth three points in total and Triple Sumo towers are worth seven points in total).
• The first player to place a Triple Sumo tower on his/her opponent's home row.

Tournament Rules

For tournament play, or for matches between experienced players who would like the opening move of the first round to be more challenging and varied, the following setup procedure should be used (instead of the towers starting on their own colours):

1. The "Challenger" (the player moving first) places all his/her towers on his/her Home Row in any chosen order (i.e. they don't have to be on their 'own' colour). If a chess clock is being used, Challenger's clock is started before he/she starts to place the towers. The clock is switched to Defender's side when Challenger's towers are all placed.
2. The "Defender" (the player moving second), having seen the Challenger's setup, then places all his/her towers on his/her Home Row in any order. When Defender's towers are all placed, the chess clock is switched back to Challenger's side and play continues as normal.
3. Then the game runs according to the established rules.