Would You Like to Play a Game?

I don't remember exactly how I stumbled onto this game but that is exactly what happened.  It was an up-too-late kinda night and I was just wasting time on the internet.  The next thing you know, I'm reading three different sites about a game called Arimaa.

Arimaa is a pretty young game.  You can go to the website to read about the history and the reasons behind the game if you want to.  The original concept was designed using chess pieces, so if you want to try it, all you will need is a chess set.

I printed out a board and some pieces from the internet onto some construction paper.  Next, I glued the circle pieces to some cardboard to make them easier to move and I was ready to play.

Each side has sixteen tokens.   Each token has an animal on it.  Their power in the game is ranked from smallest to largest.   Rabbit, cat, dog, horse, camel, elephant.   The goal is to have one of your rabbits reach the other side of the board.

Each piece can move foward, backward, or to either side with the only exception being you can't move your rabbit backward.

Each turn you get up to four moves.  The four moves can be split among different pieces or can all be played by one piece.

During these moves you can push and pull weaker pieces owned by your opponent.  You can also trap a piece onto one of the four traps of the board and remove them from the game.

My level of experience with this game is still low.  In a short amount of time I have been able to easily teach the game to two of my children.  So far, I like this game.  The kids have also said they like it and continue to request a game against me.  There is a lot of planning and strategy in this game.  I find myself constantly thinking a few turns ahead and adjusting as needed.  Cari, on the other hand, is not a fan of the game.  There were a few game mechanics that she said she didn't like.

If you tend to like strategy games like Chess or Stratego, then I believe you'll like how Arimaa plays.  For the cost of a few sheets of paper, it's certainly worth a try.