Pente
 A sample Pente game |
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| Players | 2-4 |
|---|---|
| Setup time | None |
| Playing time | 5–30 minutes |
| Random chance | None |
| Skill(s) required | Strategy |
Pente is a strategy board game for two or more players, created in 1977 by Gary Gabrel, a dishwasher at Hideaway Pizza, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Customers played Pente at Hideaway Pizza on checker-board table clothes while waiting for their orders to arrive. 30 Years later, patrons are still playing Pente at Hideaway Pizza; although using rolled up Pente boards. Pente is based on the Japanese game ninuki-renju, a variant of renju or gomoku that is played on a Go board of 19x19 intersections with white and black stones. In contrast to renju, ninuki-renju and Pente allow captures, but Pente added a new opening rule. In the nineteenth century, gomoku was introduced to Britain where it was known as "Go Bang." (borrowed from Japanese "goban" 碁盤 meaning "go board")[1]
Contents |
History [edit]
Pente is a registered trademark of Hasbro for strategy game equipment. Pente (πέντε) is the number five in Greek.
Hasbro ceased distribution of Pente in 1993. It later licensed Pente to Winning Moves, a classic games publisher that resurrected the game in 2004. The 2004 version includes 4 extra stones, called power stones, that can be played in the Pente Plus version.
Rules [edit]
The players alternate in placing stones of their color on free intersections, with White always assuming the opening move. The players aim to align five stones of the same color suite in vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines. Captures are obtained by flanking pairs of an opponent's stones in any same direction. (captures must consist of pairs; flanking a single stone does not result in a capture) A player cannot lead their own stones into capture by moving into a flank after the fact. A player wins by scoring five stones in a row, or capturing five pairs of opponent stones. Pente can also be played by four people, with pairs of two acting as partners.
Tournament rule [edit]
In this common variation, the first player's second move is restricted — it must be at least three intersections away from the center of the board. The tournament rule was created by Tom Braunlich[2] to subvert the advantage held by the first player.
Megiddo [edit]
Megiddo is a 1984 board game developed by Steve Baldwin and distributed by Zoydan Games, Inc. of Spokane, Washington. Megiddo involves placing glass stones on a circular game board in which players attempt to align six stones in a row (called a Megiddo) or capture six (three pairs) of the opponents stones. (called an Arbatta)
The game board consists of six concentric rings each with six collinear points extending from the center. Two (or three) players take turns placing one of their stones on any point on the board. The game ends once a player has achieved a Megiddo or Arbatta, or when all points have been played and none remain. (called a Patara, or draw) A Megiddo can be six stones extending from the center of the board — in circumference of one of the six rings — or as a spiral. A capture is made when a player brackets two (and only two) of their opponent's collinear stones; the two captured stones are then removed and replaced with stones of the opposite color.
References [edit]
- ^ OED citations: 1886 GUILLEMARD Cruise ‘Marchesa’ I. 267 Some of the games are purely Japanese, as in go-ban. Note, This game is the one lately introduced into England under the misspelled name of Go Bang. 1888 Pall Mall Gazette 1. Nov. 3/1 These young persons played go-bang and cat's cradle.
- ^ "Playing - Game Rules". Pente.org. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
