Description
Overview and objective
The goal of the game is either to occupy five power points located on the board, to eliminate all the opposing pieces, or to eliminate all but one remaining imprisoned piece of the opponent’s. Accomplishing any one of these goals results in a win.[1]: 2
When one piece lands on the same space as an opposing piece, the removal of the targeted piece is not automatic. Instead, the two pieces are placed into a full-screen ‘combat arena’ and must battle (action-style, with the players operating the combatants) to determine who takes the square.[1]: 2 [2] A stronger piece will generally defeat a weaker piece, but not always, and a fight can result in both pieces being eliminated. This uncertainty adds a level of complexity to the game. Different pieces have different abilities in the combat phase. These include movement, lifespan, and weapon. The weapons vary by range, speed, rate of firing, and power. For example, the pawn (represented by knights on the ‘light’ side and goblins on the ‘dark’ side) attacks quickly, but has very little strength; its weapon, a sword or club, has limited reach and power. A dragon is stronger and can attack from a distance, while a golem moves slowly and fires a slow but powerful boulder.
Game board
The board is visually similar to a chessboard and is laid out with nine columns and nine rows. There are five “power points”, arranged at the center of each edge and the center of the board. A piece on a power point heals faster and is immune to spells cast by the opponent.[1]: 3
A piece’s powers are affected by the square on which the battle takes place, with each player having an advantage on squares of their own color.[1]: 3 Each quadrant of sixteen squares (e.g., A1:D4) in each corner of the board has six dark squares, six light squares, and four oscillating squares which cycle between light and dark, making them dangerous to hold over time; these quadrants are separated by oscillating squares along the middle column (E) and row (5). In total, 27 squares on the board (1⁄3) oscillate between light and dark.
The three power points in the middle column (E) are on oscillating squares. The two power points on the left and right edges are permanently assigned (A5 = light, I5 = dark) and are the respective starting squares for the spellcaster/leaders of each side.
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