The Game

Fanoron is a traditional, two player board game from Madagascar where one player plays 22 white stones and the other player plays 22 black stones. White gets the first turn and turns alternate between white and black.

Fanoron is played on a board that is ruled with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines along which stones may be moved. These lines create a network of nine rows and 5 columns of intersections that the stones may occupy. Some intersections allow movement along the diagonals while others do not.

The game begins with the stones placed as below:

Moving

Each turn is composed of a sequence of one or more moves made by a single stone.

Each move is made by moving a stone along a line on the game board to an empty, adjacent intersection.

There are two kinds of moves:

  • capturing moves ~ where one or more opposing stones are captured as a result of the move
  • non-capturing moves ~ where no opposing stone is captured

Non-Capturing Moves

Non-capturing moves can only be made when no capturing move is possible. After a non-capturing move, a player's turn immediately ends.

Capturing Moves

Opposing stones may be captured during a move provided:

  • the opposing stone lies along the same line as the move
  • the opposing stone is adjacent to the intersection the moving stone either moves from (capture by withdrawal) or to (capture by approach)
  • when an opposing stone is captured, all opposing stones along the same, unbroken line of opposing stones are also captured
  • when a move allows for both a capture by approach and a capture by withdrawal, the player must choose which type of capture to make

After making a capturing move, the player may choose to continue their turn by making additional capturing moves using the same stone provided:

  • the stone never lands in an intersection it previously occupied during the same turn
  • two successive moves can't lie along the same line (a withdrawal followed by an approach on the same line is not allowed)

Winning

To win a player must either capture all of an opponents stones, or leave the opponent without a move. If neither player can achieve a win, then the game is a draw.