Volta
Volta Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
A circular wooden disk (the arena), 2 stone balls or marbles (the riders), and 2 square wooden disks (the steeds). These have dents on either side, one of which is larger, the other one is smaller. The smaller one is more difficult to play with.
Attention: Not suitable for children under three years. Small parts might be swallowed!
What's Special About This Game
Volta is a distant relative of Carrom and other dexterity games, in which the goal is to push the opponent away. In Volta, there are special brakes, though: The marbles which "ride" on the wooden squares demand special care from the players: Each movement that is too powerful might be beneficial to the other player!
The Game
Agree whether to play on the larger or the smaller dent side. If one player is vastly more experienced than the other, you can let this player use the smaller dent, while the other player uses the larger one. This reduces the imbalance.
Place your steeds on top of the arena on opposite ends and decide who starts. After each point, the player who lost the point starts.
Move your steed by nudging it with a finger. Don't lead your steed over any distance (the finger should touch the steed only briefly). The aim is to either haul the opposing rider off his steed, or to push steed and rider off the arena. This counts a point. But beware: If your own rider falls off the steed during your move, the point always goes to your opponent. This also applies when both steeds fall off the arena!
Points are tallied. The first player who reaches ten points and has at least a two point lead, wins. Otherwise, continue until a player has a lead of two points. You can either count the points aloud or take notes.
Tactical Considerations
Avoid offering a broadside of your steed to the opponent. If a corner of your steed points in the opponent's direction, some of the energy of his/her push will be transformed into a spinning move of your steed, which won't do much harm to your rider.
Further Suggestion
While we do our best to pick the marbles, we cannot guarantee that both of them are of absolutely equal weight. If you want to ensure no player gets an unfair advantage, you can agree to swap steed and rider after each five points.