How to play Fanorona

What you need

Fanorona is played on a board of lines, 9 points wide and 5 points deep, which gives 45 points. The pieces sit on the points, not in squares. Straight lines join every point to its neighbours across and up and down. Some points, called strong points, also have diagonal lines through them.

Each player has 22 pieces, usually light and dark.

Setting up

Fill the board so that only the centre point is empty:

• Each player fills the two rows nearest to them.
• The middle row has the pieces alternating, with the empty point exactly in the middle.

From your side, the middle row reads: dark, light, dark, light, empty, dark, light, dark, light (or the reverse, depending on colours).

Players then agree who goes first.

Moving

On your turn, move one of your pieces along a line to a neighbouring empty point. Pieces can only move diagonally where a diagonal line is drawn.

Capturing

Fanorona has two ways to capture, and they are what make the game special.

Approach. Move your piece so that it ends up next to an enemy piece, in the direction you were moving. That piece is captured. So are any enemy pieces lined up directly behind it in the same line, until there is a gap or one of your own pieces.

Withdrawal. Move your piece directly away from an enemy piece that was next to it. That piece is captured, along with any unbroken line of enemy pieces behind it in the same direction.

If one move could capture by approach and by withdrawal at the same time, you must choose one.

Chains of captures

Captured pieces are taken off the board straight away. After a capture, the piece that moved may carry on and make another capture. Every step of a chain must capture, and it may keep going as long as it can, with two limits:

• it may not move in the same direction twice in a row, and
• it may not return to a point it has already visited during this turn, including the point where it started.

You can stop a chain whenever you like. Only the piece that started the chain may move during it.

Compulsory captures

If any capture is available, you must make a capturing move rather than a quiet move. You do not have to choose the move that captures the most pieces.

The first move

In the common rules, the very first turn of the game may make only one capture, with no chain afterwards. Not every player uses this rule, so agree it before you begin.

Winning

You win when you have captured all your opponent’s pieces. In the rare case that a player cannot move at all on their turn, they lose.

If neither side can make progress near the end, a draw can be agreed. Many players make this automatic: the game is a draw if nobody captures for 25 turns each (50 turns in all), or if the same position, with the same player to move, comes round three times.

Common variants

In Madagascar, a handicap game called vela is sometimes played after a win, in which the previous winner gives the other player an advantage. Smaller boards, such as Fanoron-telo (3 by 3) and Fanoron-dimy (5 by 5), are also played and are a gentle way to learn.

Tips for beginners

• Look at both directions. Before each move, check whether moving towards or away from an enemy piece captures anything.
• Watch the opening. The board is crowded at first and a single move can start a long chain. Look for the chains your opponent could make next.
• Use the strong points. Points with diagonals give your pieces more options.
• Avoid leaving long lines. A long row of your pieces can be swept up with one capture.
• Slow down near the end. With few pieces left, keep yours together so they cannot be picked off.