Players: 2 | Time: 20–40 min | Objective: Capture the enemy Capital.
1. Components
- Board: 10×10 (default) or 12×12 grid with random rivers and mountains.
- Armies: Unlimited token count in digital form (physical: 25 each).
- Capitals: Each player’s central back-row stronghold.
- Fortifications: Walls (stack up to 2) and Towers (1 per tile, no walls with a tower).
- Energy Points (EP): 6 EP each turn to spend on actions.
Map & Legend
- Direction: Compass shows N/E/S/W (needle follows pointer).
- Grid: Columns A–J/L and Rows 1–10/12 with axis labels.
- Key: Player tokens, Capital ring, Wall, Tower, Territory edges (color-coded).
- Terrain: Rivers (blue) and Mountains (gray). Mountains have levels (height) 1–3; default level is 1. Capitals and their immediate neighbors are always clear.
Player 0
Player 1
Capital
Wall = +2 EP to attack (per layer)
Tower = +4 EP (single layer)
2. Setup
- Each Capital is placed at center of its back row.
- Place 3 starting army tokens orthogonally adjacent to each Capital (auto in digital version).
- Player 0 starts.
3. Turn Structure
On your turn you have 6 EP. Spend them on any mix of actions:
| Action | Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Expand | 2 EP | Place a new token on an empty orthogonal square adjacent to one of yours (cannot be river/mountain). Capital cannot expand. |
| Move | 2 EP | Move one of your non-capital tokens to an adjacent empty square you already own. Cannot move into neutral. |
| Deploy | 3 EP | Place a new token anywhere in your back two rows. |
| Attack | 2 EP + Fortification | Move into adjacent enemy square (cannot be river/mountain). Extra: +2 EP per Wall layer, +4 EP if Tower present. Capital cannot attack. |
| Cross | 2 EP | From one of your units, move into an adjacent river cell (neutral or yours). Cannot capture via Cross. |
| Climb | 2 EP | From one of your units, move onto an adjacent Mountain cell (neutral or yours) of any level. You stand on the Mountain; it remains in place and makes that position harder to capture. |
| Dig | 2 EP | Reduce a Mountain by 1 level at a cell where you have a unit standing or adjacent. If it reaches 0, the Mountain disappears. |
| Fill | 2 EP | On one of your owned squares (even if occupied by your unit), create or raise a Mountain by +1 (max level 3). |
| Wall | 3 EP | Add one Wall (max 2) to your occupied square (no Tower there). |
| Tower | 5 EP | Place a Tower if no Walls exist on that square (acts as a single strong layer). |
| End Turn | Free | Pass play; EP does not carry over. |
4. Combat & Fortifications
- Each attack spends its total EP cost up front.
- If a Tower exists, it is removed (no capture yet).
- If Walls exist, remove exactly one Wall (no capture yet).
- If no fortifications remain, the square (or Capital) is captured.
- Capturing a Capital immediately ends the game.
5. Victory
- Primary: Capture the enemy Capital.
- Secondary: If board fills with no Capital captured: higher territory count wins; tie = draw.
6. Strategy Tips
- Balance expansion with defense—walls slow enemy momentum.
- Deploy to back row to reinforce weak flanks.
- Chip away at fortifications; don't overspend on risky attacks.
7. Optional Modes
- Chess Clock: Total time per player (like chess). Choose Bullet (1/2 min), Blitz (3/5 min), or Rapid (10/15 min). Optional increment +0–5s per move. If your clock hits 0, you lose on time.
- 12×12 Variant: Switch the board size to 12×12 in Settings for longer games.
- Bots: Choose Bot (Easy/Medium/Hard/Extreme) for either player in Settings. Extreme is the strongest and uses a deeper lookahead with a small per-move time budget (tied to your chess clock; a short fixed budget if the clock is off).