- Dara (game)
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Dara is a two-player abstract strategy board game from Nigeria specifically played by the Dakarkari people. In the Haussa language, the game is called Doki which means horse. It is a clever alignment game related to tic-tac-toe. However, it is far more complex. The game was invented sometime in the 19th century or earlier. The game is also known as Derrah.
Contents
Goal
To form 3 in-a-rows, and eliminate as many of your opponent's pieces so that he or she can no longer form 3 in-a-rows.
Equipment
The board is a 5x6 square board. Each player has 12 pieces. One player plays Black and the other plays White, however, any two colors will do.
Game Play & Rules
1. Players decide among themselves who starts first. It is completely arbitrary which player starts first.
2. The board is empty in the beginning. Players take turn placing their stones onto the empty cells of the square board. This is known as phase 1 of the game or the Drop phase.
3. After all 24 stones have been dropped, phase 2 or the Move phase begins. Players will then take turns moving their pieces orthogonally into an adjacent empty cell.
4. Players attempt to make a 3 in-a-row with their own pieces. The 3 in-a-row must be orthogonal and not diagonal. Furthermore, it must be strictly 3 pieces in-a-row, and not 4 or more pieces in-a-row; 4 or more pieces formed in-a-row are illegal. If a 3 in-a-row is made by a player, he or she can remove one enemy piece from the board which is not part of a 3 in-a-row itself.
5. If a player can no longer make 3 in-a-rows with their remaining pieces, he or she is the loser, and the other player is the winner.
6. Please note that 3 in-a-rows made during the Drop phase do not count. Therefore, a player cannot remove another player's stone during the Drop phase even if one were to make a 3 in-a-row. Moreover, the rule that 4 or more pieces in-a-row are illegal to form also applies in the Drop phase.
7. Lastly, if a player were to successfully form two 3 in-a-rows in one move during the Move phase, only one enemy piece can be removed.
External links
- http://homepages.di.fc.ul.pt/~jpn/gv/dara.htm
- http://www.behindtheglass.org/africaresources/dara.asp
- http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/SLsup5actb.txt
Categories: Abstract strategy games | Traditional board games | African games
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