Leverage
Leverage Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Equipment & Arrangement
The Leverage game includes Game Board, Support Base, Point Pieces, and Playing pieces. Note that the Game Board has two safety zones represented by a trapezoid on each side. The game is ready for play with the Game Board resting on the Support Base and all Playing Pieces and Point Pieces arranged as illustrated in Figure 1. As you can see, the board is balanced at the beginning of the game.
Point Pieces: These are the game pieces which represent potential points. There are 18 yellow Point Pieces, 9 for each end row of the Game Board. You want to remove Point Pieces which are on your opponent's side (your distant end) of the board. Therefore, it's possible for you to remove a maximum of 9 Points Pieces. Each removed Point Piece equals one point.
Playing Pieces: These are the game pieces which are moved about the board to accomplish the objective. Each player chooses a red or blue set comprised of 3 Large, 5 Medium, and 7 Small pieces. Your Playing Pieces start in the safety zone on your side of the board.
Figure 1 - Game Board and Pieces Set Up for Play
Overview
At the beginning of the game, the Leverage board is completely balanced and level. As players move their pieces, the board becomes unbalanced but stays level – until a player gains enough leverage to cause one end to drop and rest upon the table. The idea is to maneuver your Playing Pieces so that your opponent's end of the board drops. When it drops, you remove a Point Piece from the dropped end (your opponent's side) of the board. The board then lifts off the table and returns back to level because there is practically no in-between stage -- it essentially rests either level or tilted completely down. Typically, the game is ended when one player has moved all of his remaining (uncaptured) Playing Pieces into the opponent's safety zone – the winner is the player who has removed the most Point Pieces.
How to Play
1. Objective
Players move their Playing Pieces forward, while either sacrificing (allowing capture) or protecting them, in order to (1) tilt down the opponent's side of board to earn Point Pieces (see Board Tilt & Points), and (2) end the game while ahead or equal in Point Pieces (see Ending Game & Winning).
2. Movement of Playing Pieces
General: Either player starts first. Each player takes turns in moving. In each turn, a player moves one of his own pieces one space in any direction (forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally), OR, a player moves one piece more than one space by jumping. Playing Pieces may move in and out of either safety zone, but they may not move into either of the end rows, which are for Point Pieces only.
Jumping: A piece may jump an adjacent piece (in any direction) if the space beyond the adjacent piece is vacant; also, multiple jumps (see Fig. 3) may be taken by a piece during a turn. Available jumps are merely optional. Any piece may jump any other piece. Also, during a turn when multiple jumps are made, you may not jump the same capturable piece more than once (as in a circular jumping sequence); because, once you jump an opponent's capturable piece, it is considered no longer there.
Capture: A player's Medium and Large pieces are captured (removed from board) if outside of a safety zone when jumped by an opponent's Medium or Small piece. Small pieces are never captured when jumped, and a Large piece cannot capture any pieces it jumps. No piece is captured if jumped while in a safety zone. Captured pieces are worth no points, but are removed before determining if the board tilts and Point Pieces are earned.
A few unlikely situations are covered as follows: (1) A player wins the game automatically after removing all 9 of the Point Pieces on the opponent's side and then causing the board to tilt down a tenth time. (2) If the 15 spaces in a safety zone are ever completely filled by any combination of both players' Playing Pieces, the game is automatically won by the player on the opposite side. (3) A draw can occur when you surround/block an opponent's Playing Piece so that he cannot possibly move it into his distant safety zone, but the draw is not effected until you call it.
Figure 2 - Playing Piece Chart
| These Playing Pieces can ... | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| move 1 space in any direction. | X | X | X |
| jump any Playing Pieces. | X | X | X |
| be jumped by any Playing Pieces. | X | X | X |
| capture opponent's Medium & Large pieces. | X | X | |
| be captured by opponent's Small & Medium pieces. | X | X |
Figure 3 - Example of Multiple Jumps
In this example, the player on the right has moved his Playing Piece in a sequence of 7 jumps during his turn. He has traveled out of his safety zone, back in and out again, and finally landed in the distant safety zone. He could have continued to jump straight ahead, or, either to his right or left; any available jumps are optional.
3. Board Tilt & Points
Each Point Piece you remove from your opponent's side counts as one point for you. You remove one or more Point Pieces when your move tilts down the opponent's side of the board so that it rests on the table. The number of Point Pieces removed is the minimum number (usually just one) that allows the downed end of the board to lift off the table. If your move tilts down your own end of the board, your opponent removes a Point Piece(s) from your end of the board. If there is ever a question as to whether the board is going to stay level or drop down, just rock the board – if it goes down, then a Point Piece is removed, otherwise, it's the next player's turn.
4. Ending Game & Winning
The game is ended when one of the players has moved all of his uncaptured Playing Pieces into the safety zone on his opponent's side of the board; no particular arrangement within the safety zone is necessary. The winner is the player with the most Point Pieces at the end of the game; or, if players have equal points, the winner is the player who ended the game. (Beware! If you end the game and have less points than your opponent, you lose!)
Strategy
There are two strategies that make the game especially challenging, because a player may change or merge his strategy as the game is played. And, both strategies are equally effective!
Here are the two basic strategies: (1) Overpower the opponent with sheer strength and position of your own forces while guarding against being captured. If you get more weight to the other side of the board, you will no doubt win. (2) Sacrifice capturable pieces in a timely manner to allow greater mobility with a smaller force while using the opponent's greater force against himself. With a smaller force, you have less pieces to move to the opposite safety zone and end the game – if you do that before your opponent gets ahead in points, you win!
Additional Versions of Play
- Heavy Weight Version: Prohibit the Large Playing Pieces from jumping the opponent's pieces.
- Intrigue Version: Allow the Medium Playing Pieces to jump but not capture opponent's pieces.
- Point Piece Reverse: Set up the game with no Point Pieces on the board; then when point(s) are earned, add Point Pieces to the raised end of the board until the downed end lifts off. The effect of this version is to increase the tilting action of the board early in the game.