Dara

Dara in a nutshell

Dara is a two-player strategy game from West Africa, played on a grid of 5 by 6 squares with 12 pieces each. First you place your pieces, then you move them one square at a time, trying to make a row of exactly three. Each row of three lets you take one of your opponent's pieces.

1. Start with an empty grid. Each player has 12 pieces. The board has 30 squares, in 5 rows of 6.
2. Drop your pieces. Take turns placing one piece on any empty square until all 24 are down. Rows of three made now do not count.
3. Move one square. Then take turns moving one piece one square up, down, left or right into an empty square. No diagonal moves.
4. Make a row of three. If your move makes exactly three of your pieces in a straight line, across or down, you capture.

Read the full rules of Dara

At a glance

Players

2 players 12 pieces each

Length

10 to 20 minutes per game

Equipment

5 by 6 grid or holes in the sand

Learn it in

5 minutes two simple stages