HexDame

HexDame translates International Draughts onto a hexagonal grid (or, alternatively, onto the vertices' of a triangular grid). Pieces move either straight ahead or in either forward-oblique direction. Board of HexDame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . i . . . . . 8 . . . . h . . . . . 7 . . . . g . . . . . 6 . . . . f . . . . . 5 . . . . e 4 . . . d 3 . . c 2 . b 1 a Initial setting with sixteen red men (r) and sixteen white men (w) r r r r r r r r r r . r r r . 9 . r r . i . . r . . 8 . . . . h . . . . . 7 . . . . g . . w . . 6 . w w . f . w w w . 5 w w w w e 4 w w w d 3 w w c 2 w b 1 a Game play alternates between player white and player red. Player white begins. Players are not allowed to skip a turn. Objective A player wins by capturing all opponent's pieces or if the opponent can not perform a legal move on his turn. On agreement or if the same game situation repeats three times the game is draw. Moving Men move forward only. Thus following the algebraic notation of the diagram red men move either in direction of smaller numbers or preceeding letters (alphabetical order) or both at once, while white men move either in direction of higher numbers or suceeding letters or both at once. Sample moves: Red man can move to positions indicated by '#', while white man can move to '+' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . i . r . . . 8 # # . . h . # . . . 7 . . + . g . . + + . 6 . . w . f . . . . . 5 . . . . e 4 . . . d 3 . . c 2 . b 1 a Promotion to King On reaching the rows at the opposite edge of the board at conclusion of a move it promotes to king. This is indicated by stacking a second checker of same color on top. In order to promote, a man must end its move on a square of the back rank. If a man, in the course of a capture, visits a cell of the back rank without ending its move on it, it does not promote! Red men get promoted when reaching any of the nine positions indicated '#' at conclusion of red's move. White men get promoted when reaching any of the nine positions indicated '+' at conclusion of white's move. + + + + . + + . . + + . . . + 9 . . . . i . . . . . 8 . . . . h . . . . . 7 . . . . g . . . . . 6 . . . . f # . . . # 5 # . . # e 4 # . # d 3 # # c 2 # b 1 a Thus the last rows at the edge of the board for white consists of fields from e9 to i9 followed by i9 to i5, while the last rows at the edge of the board for red consists of fields from a5 to a1 followed by a1 to e1. Capturing Men can capture an adjacent opponent's piece (man or king) by jumping over it following a straight line onto the empty field directly behind the opponent's piece. Capturing is compulsory, including making chained jumps if available. Thus men's turn may consist in chained jumps. If more than one capture move is available in a player's turn then it is obligatory to select the capturing move resulting in capturing the maximum amount of the opponent's pieces (men or kings). If optional chained capturing might capture same amount, the player may choose. Men are non flying. Thus they can only capture an opponent's piece adjacent to their own position. Kings are flying. They may move over any amount of empty fields or capture a piece in any amount of empty fields' distance away as long as the adjacent field behind the captured piece is empty. Anyway if a king captures, it may land on any empty field immediately behind or following empty fields in straight line of the captured piece unless it is required to stop on a specific field in order to continue jumping according to the rule of capturing maximum amount of opponent's pieces. Any capture move may be performed by men or kings in any direction - forwards or backwards. Each jump is performed in a straight line over any single opponent's piece. The adjacent field behind the pieces captured must be free. A possible chained jump can consist of single jumps having a combination of same or even different directions. In a chained capture move opponent's pieces are removed only after capturing is complete. During a chained capture a piece may not be jumped more than once. But it is allowed to revisit or jump over any empty field multiple times then. There is no breezing as a penalty for captures that are not performed.