Vadrantir 2024

Vadrantir (from Irish: uachdranachd nan tìr, meaning "dominion of territories") is a territorial unification game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the hexes (cells) of an initially empty hexagonal board. The recommended size is 6 cells per side, but boards of 5 or 7 are also valid. Each player has access to a sufficient supply of stackable pieces in their own color.

Definitions: A group is the maximal set of connected stones of the same color. A single stone is also a group. The size of a group is the number of stones it contains. A territory is a maximal set of connected empty cells. You own a territory if the largest group adjacent to it is your color, and in case of equality the next largest groups are compared; if they are all the same size, the territory does not score for any player. The value of a territory is the number of empty cells it contains.

Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, place a stone of your color non adjacent to friendly groups unless the group formed by the placed stone is at most one stone larger than the largest adjacent enemy group.

End of the game:The game ends when exactly one player cannot place stones, and the player with the territories of the highest value wins. To prevent ties, half a point is awarded to the player with the largest group. In case of a tie in size, the next largest groups are considered.

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

—description from the designer