Six
Six Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 19 red pieces
- 19 black pieces
The Three Basic Shapes of Six
Triangle, circle, and row. Each shape is formed from six pieces.
Setup
For two players: Each player chooses a color and takes all 19 pieces of that color.
For four players: In the four-player variant, two players — seated opposite each other — play together as partners. The partners share 18 pieces of one color. Play proceeds clockwise around the table. Hints and arrangements between partners are not allowed. If everyone agrees, a cleared throat may be permitted as a warning signal, to alert one's partner to a threatening danger.
Objective
The objective is to form one of the three shapes shown, while at the same time preventing your opponent from doing the same. The winner is whoever is first to complete a six-piece formation.
Play
Lots are drawn to decide who opens the game. This player places the starting piece in the middle of the table. Whoever is next in turn then places one more piece. A piece may be placed against your own pieces as well as your opponent's. A newly placed piece must touch an already-placed piece with at least one side.
It is enough to form one of the three winning formations to win. As soon as a winning formation is formed, the game ends immediately.
A closed circle always counts as a winning formation, regardless of whether an own piece, an opponent's piece, or no piece at all sits at its center.
Capturing
Pieces that become cut off (isolated) from the field when another piece is removed count as captured and are set aside. This applies to single pieces just as much as to whole groups of pieces.
Worked example: the diagram in the printed rulebook shows a large connected mass of red and black pieces, with two single pieces marked as capturable at the edges of the mass — one labeled "capture opportunity for black," the other "capture opportunity for red." Each marked piece would become isolated, and so captured, once a particular neighboring piece is removed from the field.
If removing a piece divides the playing field into two equally sized groups, the player who made the move may decide which group is removed. Otherwise, the smaller group always counts as captured.
Second Round
If the players have placed all their pieces without either of them succeeding in completing a six-piece formation, the second part of the game begins. The objective — to form one of the six-piece formations — remains unchanged.
On your turn, remove one of your own pieces from the field and place it again at any other position adjoining the layout. (Carefully lift out pieces that are fully enclosed, so that the surrounding pieces are not shifted.)
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as one side has formed a six-piece formation, or has captured so many of the opponent's pieces that the opponent can no longer form a six-piece formation. The loser opens the next game.
Enjoy playing Six!
Credits
- Game concept and design: Steffen Mühlhäuser
- Woodworking: Ulli Gumpert & Rappel
- Graphic design: Steffen Mühlhäuser, Bernhard Kümmelmann
- Printing: Vatter & Sohn
© 2003 by Steffen-Spiele