Abstract Strategy

Mah-Jongg (chin. 麻將/麻将 Májiàng [game of the] sparrow) is a traditional Chinese game using illustrated tiles, with game play similarities to rummy. It is a popular gambling game, but wagering real stakes is by no means necessary to have fun playing.

The tiles consist of three suits numbering 1-9 (Dots, Numbers or Characters, and Bamboo, the "Ace" of which almost always looks like a bird), three different dragons (Red, Green, and White [white is unusual in that it may look like a silvery dragon, or like a picture frame, or blank - think "White dragon in a snowstorm"), and the four winds (east, south, west, and north). There are four copies of each tile. This totals to 136 tiles. In addition, special Flower, Season, and Joker (American version) tiles may also be used.

Four players take turns drawing from a stock (the wall), or from the other players' discards, in an attempt to form sets of numeric sequences (e.g., 5-6-7 of the same suit, which can only be drawn from the player at one's left, by calling "Chow"), triplets and quadruplets (which can be drawn from the discards out-of-turn by calling "Pung"), pairs, and other patterns. "Pung" takes precedence over "Chow", and "Mah Jongg" takes precedence over all (and is the only situation one may draw "Chow" out-of-turn.) What happens if a single discard would give two (or more!) players "Mah Jongg"? Precedence goes to the player who would play next in normal sequence.

Originating in China in the mid-19th century, it was introduced to the U.S. in the 1920s. It is now played in different forms throughout Asia, Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Although the rules for game play are fairly constant, there are an immense variety of scoring schemes. A few general categories of rule-sets include: Chinese Classical, Hong Kong Old Style, Japanese, Taiwanese, Western, and American.

The object of this game is to be the first player to position his pieces in the opponent's starting row. The catch is that the pieces are (one minute?) sand timers and that their movement is dictated by a die.

A timer that runs out of sand is sent back to its starting space. The die rolls are 1, 2, 3, S, S, S; an S is used to start a timer from the starting row (flipping it and advancing one space) or to flip an already running one. The number rolls simply advance a running timer.

Onitama is a two-player, perfect information abstract game with a random starting set-up. On a 5x5 board, both players start with five pawns on their side, with the main pawn in the middle.

Each player has two open cards that each display a possible move for any of his pieces. There is a fifth card that cannot be used by either player. On a player's turn, he chooses one of his cards, moves one of his pieces according to the chosen card, then replaces the card he used with the fifth card. The other player then chooses one of his cards, moves accordingly, and exchanges that card with this fifth card — which is, of course, the card the first player just used.

Moving onto one of the opponent's pawns removes that pawn from the game. Taking the opponent's main pawn, or moving your main pawn into your opponent's main pawn's starting space, wins you the game.

None can defy the will of the gods but the gods themselves. Driven by the ambition of their king, the Greeks have arrived on the shores of Troy. Some seek power, some seek revenge, while still others seek the great moment in battle that will define their place in history.

Agamemnon is a fast-paced strategy board game in which two players take on the roles of ancient Greek gods during the Trojan War. By tactically deploying warriors to where they're needed across the board, each player may influence the final outcome of the battles famously detailed in Homer's Iliad. Some areas will be decided by the strength of the warriors, others by sheer weight of numbers, and some by the inspiration your heroes provide.

To begin the game, Strings of Fate tiles are placed on their matching spaces on the board, and each player receives one set of fifteen playing tiles. These tiles come in three varieties: Warriors, with a numerical value marking their strength, Leaders, with both a letter rank and a strength value, and Weavers who have no strength or rank, but instead manipulate the Strings of Fate. Each player will shuffle their tiles face down in front of them.

The first player flips over one of their tiles, and places it on any available space. If it’s a Weaver, its effect immediately comes into play: the Warp Weaver may swap two adjacent Strings of Fate, whilst the Weft Weaver simply splits all strings it’s connected to. After the first turn, each player flips and plays two tiles on their turns.

Once all the tiles have been placed, each string is resolved: each Strength String is won by the player with the highest combined strength contained within it; each Leadership String is won by the player with the single highest ranked tile within the string; and Force Strings are won by the player with the most tiles, including Weavers, in the string. Players claim all the tiles from Strings of Fate they have won, and the player with the most tiles at the end wins.
 

“Just as water retains no constant shape, in warfare there are no constant conditions.” –Sun Tzu

Weapons clash, water splashes and the booming battle cries of armored bullfrogs ring out across the moonlit swamp. Amphibian armies leap from lily pad to lily pad in their desperate struggle to win control of the pond.

Suddenly, a shout of triumph rises up. Enough warriors have finally entered battle on a lily pad to dominate the fight and assure victory for their side. Overloaded, the lily pad sinks into the swamp.

Frogs scatter from the sinking lily pad to the surrounding ones, coming to aid their allies or sabotage their foes, their weight causing the lily pads to drift away across the cold, glittering water. The winning commander must understand the ripple effects of every move, and avoid acting to win a single battle at the cost of losing the war.

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In Bullfrogs, 2-4 players ages 8+ take control of warring factions of frogs and fight over lily pads in a pond over the course of 20-40 minutes.