Copyright (c) Claude Soucie
The game is played on a 8x8 square board with the following setup:
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An example
Black has a winning position. The stone at g6 can move to [1], since there are three stones at row 6. |
A nice place to play LOA is at the UofA GAMES group. For more info, check Dave Dyer's Lines of Action page.
A variant of LOA, called GEMMA, rules that the cell from where the last stone has moved out is removed from play (but pieces may jump over these "holes"). There is another rule that if a stone is immobilized (cannot move or capture), the owner can be remove it from play and that counts as a move. More information at ETEROSCACCO, from where I record this sample game:
A sample game
Tony Gardner-J.J.McCallion Nost
Vention 1996 |
There are several other variants. Scrambled Eggs LOA only differs in the setup:
Parachute LOA starts with 12 stones (6 for each player) offboard. For the first 6 turns, each player makes a normal move, and then takes one of the opponent's off-board stones and places it anywhere on the board. Once all stones have been placed, the game continues as in standard LOA.
AMBILOA - In this variant, there are two different pieces:
These pieces must be moved in strict rotation. First the black soldier, then the green soldier, then the black King, and finally the green King, and so on... If, on a given turn, the player does not have that kind of piece, he must pass that move! The object is the same as standard LOA -- to get ALL pieces (of both types) into one group. This game is also played as a partnership game for four players.
Matthew Montchalin invented NEIGHBORS, (published in the April 1995 issue of GAMES & PUZZLES Magazine). This is the initial setup:
The move range of each stone is based on the number of adjacent (orthogonal and diagonal) stones of either color. A stone may also, while moving, jump over stones of either color (not only friendly pieces as in LOA). This game has the same goal.