Exile 2026

Exile is played on a hexagonal grid of hexagons (size 6 recommended) by placing and removing Go stones. White starts. Each turn, place one stone on an empty space, subject to the placement restrictions, and remove stones subject to the capturing rules.

PLACEMENT RESTRICTIONS: Stones may not be placed in “three-mutually-adjacent-stones” triangle formations. If a placement would result in the removal of the placed stone, that placement is illegal. White’s very first move must be in the corner.

DEAD REGIONS: an empty region with only “triangle-forming” placements inside it.

CAPTURING RULES: When a region becomes dead, the winner's adjacent stones are protected from removal this turn, and the loser’s adjacent stones are removed. A dead region is ‘won’ by the player with majority stones along its perimeter. If the number of perimeter stones is tied, the opponent of the player who triggered the resolution wins the tie.

CONFLICTING REGIONS: When a placement results in multiple regions becoming dead, resolutions occur in order from largest to smallest, and stones that are protected cannot be removed. If two opposing regions are tied, the opponent of the player who triggered the resolution wins the tie.

END GAME: When no legal moves remain for one player, the game is scored. When scoring, consider each region, and count the stones owned by each player along that region's perimeter. Tied regions are worth zero. Where one player has more, they earn points equal to that region's size.

—description from the designer