Power of Two (1998)

Power of Two is an abstract board game in which each player has sixteen pieces and the point of the game is to add them all to the board. You start with two (or in some variations four) pieces and new pieces are added by moving your pieces adjacent to each other. However, there is a catch. Each piece has two "lives" and using a piece to bring another onto the board uses one of those lives. Therefore, the game has a unique "two steps forward one step back" feel. In your turn your move may cause your own pieces to be removed but you never capture your opponent's. However, you can leverage your opponent's pieces as you add yours and he does not expend a life doing so. An alternate winning strategy is to cause your opponent to have no legal move and even if you do not accomplish this, a large part of the game consists of maximizing your own mobility at the expense of your opponent. As with many Kadon games, multiple variations are provided.