Sinoda
Sinoda Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
The objective of Sinoda is to capture more points worth of your opponent's pieces than they do of yours. Remember to sacrifice, guard, and capture while executing your grand plan.
Set Up
Place your six pieces in the triangle spaces that make up your "flower" starting position opposite your opponent's. Make sure that the "1" is at the top of each of your pieces. In 4-player games, randomly determine which player gets each starting position, as they are slightly different. See the setup diagrams (2 Player Small Board; 3 Player Large Board; 4 Player Large Board; 6 Player Large Board). The game board is double sided, and a capture disc is used by each player.
Game Play
Randomly determine who goes first. You can do this by rolling one of your pieces and the player with the higher number showing at the top will go first. Continue turns in clockwise order.
On your turn, you must do one of two options: Change a Piece or Move a Piece.
Change a Piece
Choose one of your pieces and turn it so that the top value (number) is either 1 value higher or lower. You may only ever increase or decrease the value by 1 per turn. The values do not "wrap around", so you cannot change a 1 to make a 4, nor can you change a 4 to make a 1. The changing piece remains in its current triangular board space. The value of a piece indicates its movement and points value.
Move a Piece
Choose one of your pieces and move it the amount of triangular spaces equal to the value (amount) shown on the top point of that piece.
You must move the piece exactly the value on top, no fewer. For example, a "2" may not move only one space, but must move two spaces. Each step of the move must be into an adjacent space. An adjacent space is one that is connected by crossing a single white line at the side of the triangle space, not through the point of the triangle. The path from your starting space to your final space must be clear; you may not move over your own or opponent's pieces. You may not "backtrack" and move to a space you have already moved through on this turn. If the final step of your piece's movement puts it on a space that contains an opponent's piece, you capture it (See "Capturing Pieces").
Example (diagram with a "1" piece and a "2" piece, and spaces A-D):
- A: Is the 2 piece's only legal move, moving to B, then A.
- B: Is an illegal move for the 2 piece, because it is only 1 space away and a piece must move the full amount indicated by the value on top.
- C: Is an illegal move for the 2 piece, because it is 3 spaces away, moving B, then A, then C.
- D: Is an illegal move for the 2 piece, because it is 4 spaces away. The 2 cannot move there by moving over the adjacent 1 piece. Pieces cannot move through a space occupied by friendly pieces or opponents' pieces.
Movement Summary
- A piece must move the full distance equal to its value
- A piece must move through the white line into an adjacent space, not through the point of the space
- A piece cannot move over or "jump" any other pieces
- A piece cannot move back to a space it was already in this turn
Capturing Pieces
If you move a piece and its move ends on a space occupied by an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured. Place the opponent's piece on your capture disc. Make sure the top number stays the same, because this is the point value of the captured piece. Your score is the total value of all the pieces on your capture disc, adding the top values together.
Remember that any value piece can capture another; the ability to capture is not dependent on the value of the piece, other than having the correct movement to land on the opposing piece. The captured pieces do not all need to be from the same opponent, and you may not capture your own pieces.
Ending & Winning the Game
The game ends immediately when:
- All players have only one piece on the board, or...
- A player has lost their last piece on the board, or...
- A player has captured 6 opposing pieces
Winning
After the game ends, add up the points value of your captured pieces, and whoever has the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player with the most pieces on the board wins. If still a tie, share the victory and play again. If at any point it is realized that it would be impossible to overtake the leading player, there is no need to continue the game to an inevitable conclusion. This is a Win by Sinoda, the special alternate win condition.
Special Win Condition: Win by Sinoda
In two player games, it is possible that the difference between the players' points might be greater than the total amount of potential points the leading player has on the board. The losing player could not catch up, even if they captured the leading player's remaining pieces. In this case, the player who has captured the higher point value would win automatically.
Win by Sinoda Example
Blue has three pieces on the board. If Blue manages to reduce the value of their remaining three pieces to "1", they would Win by Sinoda. This is because even if Red captured all 3 "1"s, they would then have only 8 points captured. This is fewer than Blue's 9 points. Blue could choose to never increase their pieces, therefore Red could never win. (Blue Player's Capture Disc: total 9 points captured. Red Player's Capture Disc: total 5 points captured.)
Team Games
All normal Sinoda rules apply, with some extra rules for scoring and set up. Team organization will have different options depending on the number of players.
- 4 Players: 2 Teams of 2 Players
- 6 Players: 2 Teams of 3 Players
- 6 Players: 3 Teams of 2 Players
Players on the same team must be positioned on the board opposite each other. Randomly determining the first player, play should alternate between teams progressing clockwise for each player's turn.
In 4 player games randomly determine if a team starts on side edges or the corner edges.
You cannot move or change the number on your teammate's pieces. You cannot capture your teammate's pieces.
Ending the game and scoring is the same as regular Sinoda. When the game ends, do not add the teammate's scores together. If any teammate has the highest total, then that team wins.