Great Kingdom Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Objective
• Components
• Setup and Gameplay
• Territory
• Siege
  • Detailed Rules
  • ※ Attack
• Game End
• Game Strategy and Tips
  • 1) Protect your Castles by placing them in vertical or horizontal lines!
  • 2) Use the edges and the Neutral Castle!
  • 3) Widen your territory and build an impregnable fortress!
  • 4) The moment you place it, it needs to be protected.
  • 5) Seki

Introduction

As a game that seeks to modernize Go, can swiftly and easily be enjoyed even by those who have never played Go. Widen your space as much as possible by playing in turns and placing your Castles around empty territory. But don't just focus on attacking. If even a single Castle of yours is destroyed, you lose — however big your empire.

Objective

While protecting your Castles, own more territory than your opponent or destroy at least one of their Castles.

Components

• Game Board x 1
• Castle x 80 (40 Castles of each color)
• Neutral Castle x 1
• Tray x 2 (stores Castles sorted by color)
• Rulebook x 1

Setup and Gameplay

1. Sit across each other and place the Game Board in the middle.
2. Place the Neutral Castle in the center of the board.
3. Decide who plays first. The first player takes all blue Castles, and the second player takes all orange Castles. Place them in front of you.
4. The first player begins their turn. On your turn you can either place a Castle anywhere on a space on the board or pass.

※ The Neutral Castle in the center of the board is neither player's Castle, but it has the function of a border. You can use the Neutral Castle as part of your territory to more easily expand your empire. You can check how to use the Neutral Castle in the following territory rules.

Territory

The notion of a 'territory' is very important in this game. Players will continue to expand their territory while progressing through the game. Preventing your opponent from expanding their territory while expanding your own is the path to victory.

1. If a player's Castles surround a space on the top, bottom, left and right, this space counts as the player's territory.
2. Place the Neutral Castle in the center of the board. (As printed; this item accompanies an illustration of a territory.)
3. You cannot place Castles in your opponent's territory.
4. The Neutral Castle or the edge of the Game Board functions as a border. By closing these areas well, you can make territories with fewer Castles.
5. If one player is surrounding a field, but an opponent's Castle is inside, this field is not a territory. A territory should not contain a single Castle of the opponent. However, since the Neutral Castle does not count as the player's Castle, if your Castles surround a field with only a Neutral Castle inside, it is a territory.
6. When using the edges of the Game Board to make a territory, one that makes use of 4 edges is not valid. (Territory is valid if 2 edges are used. Territory is valid if 3 edges are used. Not a territory if 4 edges are used.)

Siege

If a player's Castle or Castles are completely surrounded by enemy Castles, all surrounded Castles are immediately destroyed. If you destroy even one enemy Castle, you win the game immediately.

Detailed Rules

1. If there is one or more free space around the enemy's Castle, it is not destroyed.
2. In a situation where the Castle you are placing would destroy Castles of both players, destroy your opponent's Castles first. Your Castles should remain on the Game Board.

※ Attack

Just like the "check" in chess, you can declare "attack" in . We encourage you to let your opponent know that you are only one Castle away from defeating them. This declaration is only a recommendation for fair play. Not declaring "attack" does not have any repercussions.

Game End

The game ends when any player destroys one or more enemy Castles or when both players have passed their turns in succession.

The winning player is decided as follows:

1. If a player destroys even one enemy Castle, this player wins.
2. If both players have passed their turns in succession, each player counts their territory spaces and compares it with their opponent. If the first player (blue) has at least 3 more territory spaces than the second player (orange), blue wins. If this is not the case, orange wins.

Example: If the game ends as depicted, territory spaces of blue (first player): 15; territory spaces of orange (second player): 14. >> Orange wins!

Game Strategy and Tips

is a game which can be enjoyed by anyone who knows the basic rules. Part of the fun is making mistakes. The process of winning and losing can give you a better understanding of the game and help you build a new strategy. However, some of you will want to improve faster. The following tips may be helpful.

1) Protect your Castles by placing them in vertical or horizontal lines!

Castles placed in diagonal lines are more susceptible to attacks by your opponent than Castles that were placed horizontally or vertically. Therefore, placing a new Castle between your own diagonal Castles can help you protect them.

2) Use the edges and the Neutral Castle!

Usually, a territory of 1 space requires 4 Castles. However, using the edges of the Game Board and the Neutral Castle you can gain 1 territory space by placing just 2 or 3 Castles, making you gain territories easier and faster.

3) Widen your territory and build an impregnable fortress!

Castles surrounding a valid territory and all adjacent Castles to them, horizontally and vertically, cannot be destroyed. Since having even a single Castle destroyed immediately ends the game, resulting in a loss for the player whose Castle was destroyed, it is important to protect your Castles with your territory.

4) The moment you place it, it needs to be protected.

The moment you play a Castle, that Castle also needs to be protected. You need to consider whether your placement can result in your Castle being attacked. It is recommended to count how many Castles your opponent requires to destroy your Castle before you place it. In almost all situations, it is better to have 4 ways out instead of 2 ways out.

5) Seki

In Go, there is a specific situation called Seki. In , a comparable situation exists as well. In a situation depicted in ① and ②, neither of the two players can place a Castle first. This is because whoever places a Castle first, that player will have their Castles destroyed at the next move of the opponent and, therefore, lose.

A situation like the one depicted (if blue places their Castle first / if orange places their Castles first), in which neither player can place a Castle, is called a Seki. A field in a situation like this is not a territory. Although this situation does not occur often, knowing about its existence can be of strategical importance.