LAG

LAG is a two-player abstract strategy game. Based on transversal games, your pieces move in a straight line a number of steps equal to the number of groups of your pieces. The goal is to have fewer groups when the active player runs out of legal moves.

LAG is named after the lag caused by process failures in digital games. LAG draws inspiration from Mark Steere's Dodo, particularly in defining victory conditions.

Setup

This game is played on a regular hexagonal board of appropriate size (size 4 for practice, size 5 for regular play).

Each player decides which color they are responsible for and places pieces of their color in the two rows on their side.

For example, in the case of size 5, the pieces are placed as shown in the diagram.

Terminology

Object - When pieces of the same color are adjacent and connected together, they form a single "object" as a whole.

(Defined in the same way as so-called groups, the name is just a flavor)

Gameplay

The White player moves first and then turns alternate.

The active player moves one piece of his/her color. Passing is not allowed.

-Movement

Your piece moves in a straight line along the grid for a distance exactly equal to the number of objects of your color on the board at the beginning of the turn. Pieces cannot be moved off the board or into cells already occupied by pieces of friendly color.

Pieces can move to any cell with a piece of the opponent's color, and then that opponent's piece is captured by replacement and removed from the game.

On the move, a piece can jump over any number of other pieces, regardless of color.

-Restrictions

Moving a piece forward is always allowed.

If a piece is moved sideways, the number of objects of its color must be reduced after the move.

Moving a piece backward is not allowed.

Game end

The game ends when there are no legal moves left for the active player.

The player with fewer objects wins.

If there is a tie, the player who ended the game, i.e., the player who no longer has a legal move, wins.