Adaptoid
Adaptoid Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Adaptoid is a board game for two players. Each game lasts around 20 minutes.
Material
- A hexagonal board with 37 circles.
- 12 white adaptoids, 12 white legs, and 12 white pincers.
- 12 black adaptoids, 12 black legs, and 12 black pincers.
- 5 white counters and 5 black counters (for scoring).
Game Preparation
Determine randomly the colours of the players (black or white), and then position the board in the middle of the table. Each player takes his pieces (adaptoids, legs and pincers). Finally, each player positions one of his adaptoids (without legs and pincers) as shown on the image. Other initial positions are permitted upon agreement.
The game can start now. The white player plays first.
Game Rules
Alternately, each player MUST do the following one by one:
- If you want, move one of your adaptoids (see Movement and Capture). This can originate the capture of an enemy adaptoid.
- Create a new adaptoid of your colour OR add a leg or a pincer to one of your adaptoids on the board.
- Capture simultaneously (by moving away from the board) all the enemy adaptoids which are not fed (see Feeding the Adaptoids).
Once this process is completed, the turn goes to the other player.
Create an Adaptoid
In order to create an adaptoid, a new one must be positioned on the board (without legs and without pincers) on any empty space which is located next to another adaptoid of the same colour.
Example: A new white adaptoid can be created on any of the spaces marked with a green "+".
Adding Legs and Pincers
In order to add a leg or a pincer to an adaptoid already positioned on the board, you just have to insert the corresponding piece in one of the free slots of the adaptoid. An adaptoid can have as many legs or pincers as you want, maximum 6 in total. It is possible to create 28 different adaptoids!
Movement and Capture
An adaptoid can move up to as many free spaces as the number of legs it has. Notice that, at the start of the game, none of the adaptoids can move, as they have no legs.
An adaptoid cannot go through an already occupied space; however it can finish its itinerary on a space already occupied by its enemy. When this last happens, the player with higher number of pincers will capture the enemy's adaptoid and he will remove it from the board. If both adaptoids have the same number of pincers, then both will be removed from the board.
Note: An adaptoid with no pincers cannot capture.
Captured pieces can be used again during the game.
Example:
- Adaptoid 1 cannot move because it doesn't have any legs.
- Adaptoid 2 can move up to three spaces (spaces marked with a green "2") because it has three legs. But it cannot reach any of the spaces marked with a red "X".
- Adaptoid 2 can capture adaptoid 3, but cannot capture adaptoid 4, as it has more pincers.
Feeding the Adaptoids
The adaptoids must always be fed to survive. The biggest adaptoids need more food than the small ones. In order to feed an adaptoid, it must be surrounded by at least as many free spaces as the total number of extremities it has (legs and pincers together).
Example: It is white's turn to capture the enemy adaptoids which have not been fed. Black adaptoid 1 has 5 extremities but it is surrounded only by 4 free spaces, so it must be removed from the board. The same happens to adaptoid number 2, which has 4 extremities, but it is only surrounded by 3 free spaces. The white player scores 2 captures.
Aim and End of the Game
The aim of the game is to capture at least 5 enemy adaptoids. The first player who achieves this objective will win the game. A player loses also if all of his adaptoids are removed from the board. In case of a tie, the player that made the last move wins.
Super-Adaptoid Variant
You need a SUPER-ADAPTOID set to play this variant.
You can configure your own board before starting the game, by using the 37 discs included in the SUPER-ADAPTOID edition.
Notes:
- An Adaptoid must be surrounded by at least as many free "discs" as the total number of extremities it has (legs and pincers together) to survive.
- The board doesn't need to have a hexagonal distribution (an example in the rulebook shows the number of surrounding discs on each cell).