FOROG (2007): Buy or sell now

Forog (which means to turn in Hungarian) is an abstract game for 2 players. The game consists of a rubberwood board foldable in 2 and 19 wooden marbles, coloured in 6 different colours (3 marbles of each colour) + a natural wooden marble, and a wooden pot. The aim of the game is to be the first player to place three of his balls in the opposing camp. To begin with, each player chooses 3 colours of marbles and places them in 3 different holes on the board (which has 6 + a central hole). In turn, each player takes all the marbles from one of the holes and deposits them one by one in the following holes. As soon as a hole in his own camp contains 5 balls, he can select one of his balls and put it in the central hole. The other balls will be distributed normally. This is only possible if the natural wood marble is not in this hole. It is not mandatory. Concerning this natural wood marble, the 1st player who puts a marble in the centre has the possibility to put the colourless marble in the hole he has just emptied. This marble then travels like the other balls during the game. The natural wooden ball is therefore a double-edged sword: it allows to block the opponent and forces him to redistribute his balls, but keeping it in his camp implies sacrificing one of his holes. Knowing when to keep the natural ball or when to send it to the opponent's side is therefore a determining factor in winning the game.