Eater 2024

Area majority game.

The board can be of any shape or size, but the standard board is intended to be a hex board with 36 intersections. The pieces are double-sided pieces like those used in Othello or Reversi: 36 pieces are needed and each player has 18 pieces. The aim of the game is to increase the size of the group and to hold a larger group than the enemy at the end of the game. All you can do on your turn is to place your pieces at the intersections of the board. Pieces connected by ruled lines form a group and grow in size. However, only groups with an odd number of pieces can survive, so any even groups of that player remaining after the end of the turn are removed from the board. Depending on the placement of the pieces, an enemy piece can be flipped over like in Othello by pinching it in a straight line to become your piece (multiple pieces, multiple directions are possible). By eating enemy pieces (Eat) they grow larger like an amoeba. The game is over when two players have finished placing all their pieces. At that point, all even groups on the board are removed. The player with the largest group wins.

The key to the game is that no even-numbered groups can survive. Test play can be done with Othello pieces.

—description from the designer