Claim (1983)
Claim (1983) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What is it about?
Several Viking tribes settle an island. At first everything is quite peaceful. Then suddenly... we are right in the middle of the game. The goal of the game is to conquer territories. A territory is conquered as soon as only your own pieces are on it. As a sign of this, towers are placed on the conquered territories. A player wins as soon as he has conquered three territories. In a four-player game, the players sitting opposite each other are allies. To win, they must conquer five territories together.
The game is divided into 4 phases:
- A. Assembling the island
- B. Settling the island
- C. The first brawl
- D. The game proper
A. Assembling the island
The number of island pieces depends on the number of players:
- In a 2-player game you need two island pieces with a total of 5 territories: the piece with 2 territories and a piece with 3 territories.
- In a 3-player game you need 3 island pieces with a total of 7 territories: two pieces with 3 territories and the piece with 1 territory.
- In a 4-player game you need all four island pieces with 9 territories.
The players jointly determine the geography of the island, that is, how the pieces are put together. They only have to make sure that the points form horizontal and vertical rows. There is an incredible number of possibilities, since the curved edges of the island pieces can be fitted together exactly.
B. Settling the island
Each player chooses a color and takes the 18 Vikings and 3 towers of his color. In a 4-player game the two allies sit opposite each other and each choose the same basic color. It is drawn by lot who begins.
In turn, each player places two of his Vikings on any points of the island, until all have placed their 18 pieces.
Tactical hint: It is sensible, on the one hand, to place Vikings as massed and closed together as possible, in order to offer little surface to attack. On the other hand, they should also be spread over as many territories as possible.
C. The first brawl
Beginning with the starting player, each player in turn takes 4 opposing Vikings off the island. In doing so, no more than 4 Vikings of one color [remainder of sentence missing in the source].
If, after this brawl, only Vikings of one color are left in a territory, that player has already conquered the territory. He can immediately place one of his towers on any free point there. (See 3. Conquering territories and 4. The towers.)
D. The game proper
1. Moving across the island with Vikings
Vikings may be moved horizontally or vertically, not diagonally. The player whose turn it is can either move a Viking to a free neighboring point (Abb. 1, 2 and 3) or jump over an adjacent piece (Viking or tower), as long as the point behind it is free. Note: several pieces can also be jumped over one after another. It does not matter whether the jumped-over pieces are one's own or the opponent's.
Abb. 5: The black piece jumps over three pieces in succession.
2. Capturing opposing pieces
Pieces, that is Vikings and towers, can be captured in various ways. Captured pieces are removed from the island immediately: Vikings are lost for good; towers are returned to the opponent.
A piece counts as captured by an opponent's move
a) if it is enclosed between two pieces of an opponent. Abb. 1: Red moves and captures the black piece.
b) [text missing in the source] ... different opponents (in the 4-player game these must of course be allies) is enclosed. Abb. 2: Black moves and captures the red piece with the help of the gray piece.
c) if it is enclosed between an opposing Viking and the shore of the island. Abb. 3: Black captures the red piece at the shore.
d) if it is enclosed between an opposing Viking and the tower of an opponent. Abb. 1 and 2: The standing piece could here also be a [remainder missing in the source].
If a Viking has captured another piece, it may immediately move once more if it can thereby capture a further opposing piece. In this way several pieces can be taken from the island in a row. Abb. 4: Red captures 4 black pieces one after another.
Several pieces can also be captured at the same time. Abb. 5: Black captures 3 red pieces at the end of its sequence of jumps.
On the other hand, one can move without danger between two opposing pieces, or between an opposing piece and the shore. Abb. 6: Red moves without danger in any of the three directions.
3. Conquering territories
A territory is conquered as soon as a player whose turn it is [text missing in the source] there and this territory is completely free of opposing pieces. As a sign of this conquest he places [text missing in the source] on any free point.
Example in Abb. 4: Red-A captures 4 black pieces and conquers the right territory. But in reality this is not a good move. For now there are no red pieces left in the left territory and Black will set up a tower there. Instead, the player should move with Red-B. In this way the 4 black pieces are captured just the same, the right territory is conquered, and Red has not left the left territory.
To conquer the territory of an opponent (one of his towers stands there), one must either capture all opposing Vikings there or the opposing tower. In both cases the opposing tower is returned to its owner and replaced by one of one's own at the same place.
4. The towers
The towers show the ownership of a territory. The same rules apply to them as to the Vikings, except that, once placed, they may no longer be moved. They can therefore be jumped over, they can be used to capture opposing Vikings (see point 2.d), and they can themselves be captured. Therefore one should consider carefully on which point to place a tower, and should leave at least one Viking there for protection.
5. Standstill?
[text missing in the source] player tries merely to move back and forth, in order not to offer an attack position. Therefore the rule applies that a player may not make three moves in a row without [remainder of sentence missing in the source].
End of the game
In a 2- or 3-player game, the game ends as soon as a player has placed his three towers on three territories. When four play, the game ends as soon as two allies together have placed five towers on five territories.
The great Viking battle for two
If two players are already practiced, they should try playing with all 4 colors. Each receives the two shades of the two basic colors. Each places and moves his Vikings entirely as he likes, that is, not alternating light and dark. In the brawl, 4 opposing Vikings are removed alternately; each player thus removes 8 Vikings. All other rules apply unchanged.