Ming mang (game)
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Ming Mang is a two-player abstract strategy board game from Tibet. Ming Mang is also a general term for the word "boardgame" in Tibet.
Goal
The goal of Ming Mang is territorial control which is achieved by the capturing and conversion of enemy pieces. It is similar to the game Go in this sense. The winner is the player who occupies more than 50% of the board which includes the player's pieces and empty territories that it controls. Territories not controlled by any player are not counted.
Equipment
The game is played on an n x n square board, but traditionally it is played on an 8 x 8 square board. To start the game, each player needs 14 pieces. However, more pieces are required in order to replace captured enemy pieces on the board; therefore, each player has far more than 14 pieces. One player plays the white pieces and the other plays the black pieces, however, any two colors are appropriate.
Rules
- Players decide what colored pieces to play, and who will start first.
- The game starts with each player's 14 pieces lined up on two adjacent sides of the board. Players will have a stock pile of extra pieces used to replace captured enemy pieces.
- Each player moves one piece per turn. A piece is moved orthogonally any number of unoccupied spaces. The moves are identical to the rook in chess or the pieces in Tafl.
- A player can capture an enemy piece by flanking it on two opposite sides (custodian method) as in Tafl.
- Captured enemy piece(s) is removed, but it is replaced by one of the captor's pieces from their stock pile. It bears some resemblance to Othello or Reversi in this way, however each enemy piece that is captured must be flanked on two opposite sides.
- A player is allowed to move a piece between two of the enemy's pieces without being captured.
- A player is not allowed to move a piece that brings the game back to a previous position.
- Pieces at the corners cannot be captured.
- A player can pass on their turn, however, if the other player passes on their next turn, the game is ended.