Edrala (2024)

Introduction:Edrala (from Scottish Gaelic: eadar-dhealaichte, which means "various" or "different") is a a drawless diversification game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the hexes (cells) of an initially empty hexagonal board. The recommended board size is 5 cells per side, but boards of 4 or 6 are also valid. Each player has access to a sufficient supply of stones of their own color. Definitions: A group is a maximal set of stones of the same color connected to each other. A single stone is also a group. The size of a group is the number of stones it contains. Turns:Black plays first and then turns alternate. On your turn, place a stone of your color on an empty cell adjacent to at most one friendly group. If you cannot do so, pass your turn; otherwise, passing is not allowed. End of the game:The game ends when no player can place stones. At the end of the game, each player receives one point for each group of their color that is different in size, plus an additional half point for the player whose largest group is smaller than the opponent's. If the tie persists, the next largest groups of each player are compared, in descending order. If all sizes match, the player who placed the last stone wins. 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