Harbustaz 2025

Harbustaz (from Proto-Germanic: harbustaz, meaning "harvest" or "autumn") is a drawless game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the hexes (cells) of an initially empty hexagonal board. The recommended board size is 5 cells per side, but boards with 4 or 6 cells are also valid. Each player has access to a sufficient supply of stackable pieces of their own color in two types: farmers and seeds.

Definitions: A farmer is a set of pieces located in the same cell. A single piece is also a farmer. To harvest a seed is to incorporate it into a farmer, so that the seed ceases to be a seed and becomes part of the farmer. A territory is a maximal set of empty cells surrounded by stones of any color. You own a territory if more than half of the stones surrounding it are of your color.

Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, perform one of the following actions:

Move your farmer in a straight line a distance equal to its height to an empty cell or a cell occupied by a friendly seed to harvest it. Upon moving, the farmer increases its height by 1 and uses an extra piece from the board to grow. If the farmer harvests a seed, it uses the seed to grow instead of taking a piece from the board. Sow a friendly seed in an empty cell in a straight line from your farmer to an empty cell at a distance equal to the height of your farmer. Then remove a piece from your farmer unless the farmer is 1 height. Pass your turn.

You can move a farmer or sow seeds through friendly pieces.

End of the game:The game ends when both players pass in consecutive turns. At the end of the game, each player counts the number of empty cells in friendly territories, and the player who made the last action receives an additional half point. The player with the highest score wins.

To balance the game, before starting, the first player places two farmers of height 1, one black and one white, and the second player chooses a side. This balancing method is called the two-piece pie rule.

–description from the designer