Fonver 2023

Fonver (from Old English: fōn in andweard, meaning "diagonal capture") is a drawless game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the intersections (points) of an initially empty square board. The recommended board size is 19 points per side. The top and bottom edges of the board are colored black; the left and right edges are colored white. Each player has access to a sufficient supply of stones of their own color.

Definitions: A chain is a set of orthogonally connected stones of the same color. A crosscut is a 2×2 area formed by two stones of one color on one diagonal and two stones of the other color on the opposite diagonal.

Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, place a stone of your color on an empty point, at least one stone per turn.

Having formed a crosscut, you must use one of the stones in the chains that include either of your own crosscut stones, to capture one of the enemy crosscut stones by replacing them with it. Continue this procedure as long as there are crosscuts on the board. If there are multiple crosscuts present they may be handled in any order, but the capturing piece must be from a chain related to the same crosscut where it is capturing.

End of the game:The game ends when a player has connected the opposite edges of their color with a complete chain of their color, in which case they are the winner.

To balance the game, before starting, the first player places a black stone on an empty point and the second player chooses the sides. This balancing method is called the pie rule.

—description from the designer