Abalone Quattro
Abalone Quattro Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game with 2 Players
Objective of the Game
Be the first player to push six of your opponent's marbles off the board.
Setup
- Place the marbles in their starting positions (each player's fourteen marbles arranged in the standard opposing rows on the hexagonal board).
- Draw lots to determine which player gets which color.
Sequence of Play
- Players alternate turns. Black always starts.
- On your turn you may make only one "move" — moving your own marbles.
- A move covers the distance to the next space — no more.
- You can carry out a move in one of six possible directions.
- You may only make a move if the adjacent space is free.
- A "move" can involve one, two, or three marbles. If you move two or three marbles at the same time, they must all be pushed in the same direction.
- No more than three marbles of one color may be moved in a single turn.
- You may split an existing longer row of marbles by moving one, two, or three marbles of one color.
Types of Moves
There are two types of moves:
- In-line move: The marbles are pushed straight ahead into the next space.
- Side-step move: The marbles are shifted sideways into the next spaces.
Once a move has been made, it cannot be changed.
Sumito
You can push your opponent's marbles away if you first set up a "Sumito" position. A Sumito is an attacking position in which the number of your marbles is greater than the number of your opponent's marbles. There are three types of Sumito:
- 2-to-1 Sumito
- 3-to-1 Sumito
- 3-to-2 Sumito
Once you have set up a Sumito position, you may move your opponent's marbles only as follows:
- By an in-line move.
- When your marbles and your opponent's marbles are in spaces directly adjacent to each other, and there is a free space behind the attacked marble(s).
A Sumito attack is not possible when:
- There is no free space behind the opposing group.
- There is an empty space between your marbles and your opponent's marbles.
- The marbles are not lined up in a straight line.
Even when a Sumito attack is possible, it does not have to be carried out. The player decides whether to attack or not.
Stalemate (Patt)
In a stalemate situation, the number of marbles both players have committed to the line is equal: neither player is able to gain an advantage. There are three types of stalemate situations:
- 1-to-1 stalemate
- 2-to-2 stalemate
- 3-to-3 stalemate
If a player has gathered more than three marbles in a stalemate, the extra marbles are not counted — a 4-to-3, for example, is therefore equivalent to a 3-to-3 stalemate.
To resolve a stalemate, a player must launch an attack along a different line, at a different angle.
Pushing Off
A marble is out of the game when it is pushed off the board, over the rim.
Who Wins?
The player who first pushes six of the opponent's marbles off the board wins the game!
Playing Against the Clock
As in chess, each player can be given a fixed amount of playing time, for example 10 or 15 minutes. Official Abalone tournaments are always played against the clock.
Game with 3 Players
Number of players: 3 Number of colors: 3
The rules are identical to classic 2-player Abalone, with the following changes:
- Each player has only 11 marbles (the row nearest the center of the board is removed from the starting setup).
- 3 marbles of the same color can push at most 2 marbles of a different color (a 3-to-2 Sumito is the strongest attack available).
- Marbles pushed off the board are kept by the player who pushed them off. To win, a player must push off 6 marbles, regardless of color.
Game with 4 Players
Number of players: 4 Number of colors: 4
- Each player has 9 marbles, arranged in a trapezoid shape (4-3-2).
- The players sitting opposite each other belong to the same team. Play proceeds around the table clockwise.
- Each player may also use their partner's marbles, as long as the first marble moved in a Sumito is their own.
- Two opposing marbles of different colors may be pushed together.
- The goal of the game is to push 6 opposing marbles off the board.
- Alternative: The two partners of a team may instead always play two turns directly in a row, one after the other. The two consecutive moves this allows open up new tactical possibilities.