Sgolte 2024

Sgolte (from Scottish Gaelic: sgoilt, meaning "to split") is a strategy game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the hexagons (cells) of an initially empty hexagonal board. The recommended size is 6 cells per side, though boards of 5 or 7 are also valid. Each player has a sufficient supply of stones of their color.

Definitions: A group is the maximal set of connected stones of the same color. A single stone is also a group. To merge is to join two or more friendly groups into one group. To split is to separate an enemy group into two or more independent groups through captures.

Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, place a stone of your color on an empty cell. If your placement merges two or more friendly groups, you must split exactly one enemy group: to do so, remove a consecutive chain of enemy stones in a straight line, provided the last stone removed is the one that causes the split.

Each stone removed becomes a stone of your color and must be placed immediately in any empty cell.

End of the game:The game ends when neither player can place a stone. Each player scores one point for each of their groups, plus half a point for having the largest group; if the largest groups are tied in size, the next largest groups are compared, in descending order of size, until a difference is found.

To balance the game, before starting, the first player places a black stone on an empty cell, and then the second player chooses their color. This method of balance is called the pie rule.

—description from the designer