TZAAR Game Rules

Hey there! Let’s dive into the exciting world of TZAAR and learn all the rules together. Get ready to have a blast!

First things first, let’s talk about the objective of the game. In TZAAR, your goal is to outmaneuver your opponent and be the last player standing with at least one of each type of piece, which are called TZAARS, TZARRAS, and TOTTs. It’s all about strategic thinking and making the right moves.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the pieces. The TZAAR pieces are the big guys, the heavyweights of the game. They are strong and can capture any opposing piece, but they can only capture one at a time. The TZARRAS, on the other hand, are smaller but they can slide over other pieces and capture multiple pieces in a single move. Lastly, we have the TOTTs. These guys are the smallest and the weakest, but they have a special power. When a TOTT captures an opponent’s piece, it gets replaced by one of the opponent’s pieces of the same size.

Okay, now that we know about the pieces, let’s move on to the gameplay. The game is played on a board divided into hexagon-shaped spaces. Each player starts with a set number of pieces and takes turns making moves. On your turn, you can either move or capture a piece. To move a piece, simply slide it to an adjacent space. To capture a piece, place one of your pieces on top of an opponent’s piece of equal or smaller size. Remember, TZAARS can only capture one piece at a time, while TZARRAS can capture multiple pieces in a single move.

Throughout the game, players must carefully plan their moves, considering the positions of their own pieces and the opponent’s pieces. It’s all about strategy and outsmarting your rival. Keep in mind that you must always make a move if possible. If you can’t make a move, you lose the game.

That’s basically it! TZAAR is a game of skill, tactics, and foresight. It challenges your ability to think ahead and make calculated moves. So gather your friends, set up the board, and let the TZAAR battles begin! Have fun and may the best player win!

1. There are 3 types of pieces in this game: Tzaars, Tzarras, and Totts. You need to have at least one piece of each type on the board at all times. Without one of these pieces, the game is incomplete. If you can make your opponent run out of either Tzaars, Tzarras, or Totts, you win.
2. Every turn, you have to capture at least one of your opponent’s pieces. If you can put your opponent in a position where they cannot capture any of your pieces, you win.

Diagram 1: The three different pieces are shown from left to right: Tzaar, Tzarra, and Tott.

Setting Up the Game

1. Put the board between you and your opponent, so that the longer side goes from one player to the other.

Put all the pieces randomly on the board. The intersections make up the play area, and we’ll call them spaces from now on. When we have all 60 pieces on the board, every space will be filled.

Let’s draw lots to determine your color. White goes first.

Note: If you prefer not to start with a random position, refer to points H and I below.

Let’s Get Started: Make Your Move!

When the game begins, I make the first move. This move is important because I can capture one of my opponent’s pieces. Capturing is easy – I just need to select one of my pieces and move it next to one of my opponent’s pieces.

Once I do that, I simply remove my opponent’s piece from the board and replace it with my own. The captured piece is taken out of the game.

Two Moves, Double the Fun: Each Turn

As the game progresses, you and I will each have the chance to make two moves during our turns.

Starting the Turn with the First Move

1. The first thing you should always do is make a “forced capture.” You have to capture! You can capture a piece in a space next to it, but as the game goes on, more and more spaces will become empty. You can also capture by moving your piece in a straight line over any number of empty spaces until you reach the first space occupied by an opponent’s piece. Take the opponent’s piece off the board and put your piece in that space. (Look at diagram 2). The opponent’s piece is removed from the game entirely.
2. When it comes to capturing, there’s no distinction between Tzaars, Tzarras, and Totts. Each piece can capture any other piece as long as it is at least as strong as the piece it wants to capture.

The thing about pieces in this game is that their strength isn’t decided by what they look like, but by how high they are stacked. At the start, all the pieces on the board are equal in strength because they’re all single pieces. But here’s the cool part: you can actually make your pieces stronger during the game by stacking them on top of each other. So, if you have two pieces stacked together, they can capture any single piece or any two-piece stack that’s a different color. And if you have three pieces stacked up, they can capture any single piece, any two-piece stack, or any three-piece stack of the opposite color. It keeps going like that, so the more pieces you stack, the stronger they get. And the best part is that all the pieces on the board move the same way, whether they’re single pieces or big stacks. So, you can move a single piece just as easily as you can move a whole stack of pieces. Now that’s a game where you can really stack up the wins!

1. If you want to strengthen one of your pieces (or stacks), you have two choices:
2. Make a second capture
3. Pass
4. A. Making a Second Capture:
   1. Capturing a second time follows the same rules as the first capture.
   2. You can use the same piece (or stack) that made the first capture, or choose a different piece (or stack) altogether.
5. B. Strengthening a Piece:
   1. To make a piece stronger, you have various options in terms of capturing additional pieces.
   2. If you want to make a specific piece stronger, focus on capturing pieces that can come together to form a stack.

1. To make a piece or stack stronger, all you have to do is jump with it on top of another piece or stack of the same color. You can jump on a piece or stack that’s next to it or in a space that you can reach by moving in a straight line over any number of empty spaces. So when you want to make a piece stronger, you can move it just like when you capture.
2. There’s no limit to how many pieces can be in a stack. No matter how high the stack is, it’s always treated as one unit. You always have to move and capture the whole stack, not just individual pieces.
3. You can jump any of your pieces or stacks on top of any of your other pieces or stacks. For example, a single Tzaar can jump onto a stack that has a Tott on top and vice versa. (See diagram 3).
4. When playing the game TZAAR, it is important to understand how different types of pieces interact with each other. One key rule to remember is that only the top piece of a stack counts for the different types of pieces in play. For example, if you place a Tott on top of a Tzaar, the stack is considered as a Tott, even though the Tzaar is still present within the stack.

Check out Diagram 3! It shows that a single piece can jump onto a stack of any height, and vice versa. You can also stack stacks on top of each other.

Now it’s your turn!

If you choose to pass, you don’t have to make your second move. Just let your opponent know that it’s their turn to go again.

Remember: you can’t pass on the first move, which is the forced capture, but you can pass on any subsequent move.

To Keep Things Clear

1. You can’t move a piece or stack to an empty space once it becomes empty.
2. You can’t jump over other pieces or stacks. You can only move over vacant spaces.
3. There is no center space on the board. You can’t move pieces across the center.
4. Stacks can only be made up of pieces of the same color.
5. You have to follow a specific order of moves: always start with the forced capture, then choose from three possible moves for your second move.

Game Over

You win the game when you capture the last piece of one of your opponent’s three types of pieces or when you put your opponent in a position where they can’t make the forced capture with their first move.

Remember: Only single pieces and the ones on top of stacks count when looking for the three types of pieces. The pieces in the stacks don’t count.

Starting Position

If you don’t want random start positions, place the pieces on the board as shown in the diagram below:

Diagram 4 shows a fixed starting position.

Tournament Version

When you play the tournament version of the game, you start with an empty board. You and your opponent take turns placing your pieces on the board. You can put your pieces in any order you want, and you can switch between different types of pieces as much as you like.

Once all the pieces are on the board, every space will be filled, and the game begins following the rules described earlier.