The board and the stones
A square board of 7 by 7, 49 squares; the one in the middle is Dar anas. Each player has 24 stones. Who plays first is drawn at random each game; they place first and move first.
First, placing
- Taking turns, each player places two stones at a time on any free squares. Nothing can be captured while placing.
- Dar anas stays empty the whole time. When placing ends, the board is full except for Dar anas.
Then, moving and capturing
- The first player opens the fight by moving a stone into Dar anas. If they have no stone next to it, the other player starts.
- A stone moves one square across or up and down (never diagonally), to an empty square next to it.
- After your move, every enemy stone next to the stone you moved, with one of your stones straight beyond it, is captured and taken off the board. One move can capture several stones at once.
- Only the stone that moved captures: moving in between two enemy stones is safe.
- A stone on Dar anas can't be captured.
- Capture, and you play again straight away, with any stone. Capturing isn't compulsory.
The end
- Capture all the other side's stones and you win.
- If moving becomes impossible (a blocked game), the player with the most captures wins; equal captures: a draw.
- 40 moves each without a capture counts as a blocked game.
- You may resign, and lose; a draw may be offered and accepted (again once the other player has moved twice).