PÜNCT
 Close-up of a game in play | |
| Designers | Kris Burm |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Rio Grande Games Don & Co. |
| Players | 2 |
| Setup time | 1 minute |
| Playing time | 40 minutes |
| Chance | None |
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Skills | Strategic thought |
PÜNCT is a two-player strategy board game. It is the sixth (and final) release in the GIPF project of six abstract strategy games, although it is considered the fifth game in the project. It was released in 2005. PÜNCT won the Games Magazine Best Abstract Strategy game for 2007.
PÜNCT is a connection game. The objective is to connect two sides of a hexagonal board, using pieces which cover three hexes each. The pieces can be placed, moved, rotated, and stacked in various ways, restricted by the geometry of the board, the shape of the pieces, and gravity. PÜNCT is a board game of skill and abstract thinking, the ultimate goal is to make a connection.Players can bring new pieces to the board or can attempt to connect the pieces that are already there. The objective of this two player game is misleading the opponent as well as making connections. The PÜNCT board game is one of six games apart of the GIPF project. This project was created by Kris Burm and is a series of six abstract games. PÜNCT is the 5th game of the project and the board of this game is shaped like a hexagon. This game was released in 2005.
Rules
When the players take their first turn, they are not able to use the central hexagon. The PÜNCT piece is used as a point of reference throughout the game, but the PÜNCT piece can't be moved when the player is making a move. Minor dots can land on the other player’s piece, but the PÜNCT piece may not. In order to make a move, three dots must be in perfect alignment. The pieces that are on top of all of the other pieces have the most power in this game. The dots on the ends of the pieces must be at the same level horizontally to play this game correctly. In order to make a bridge in this game, you must perform a jump move on a piece already on the board. The positions of the dots at the end don't have to be aligned with the middle or stable horizontally. When determining the winner, a player can lift one piece at a time to determine if a connection was made. To connect opposite sides in this game, players can move pieces on top of other pieces or they can stack pieces to block the opponent's connection, ergo, making a connection for themselves. The actual PÜNCT piece, which is a rounded piece that has one point, cannot be used to make a connection or form a “chain” but rather used as a point of reference.
How to Win
If the dots or a PÜNCT piece are next to each other or across from each other at any level, the player has successfully made a connection. Another way to win this game in the case of a tie breaker, is to control the most spaces on the board. A pro tip to win this game is practice, as well as moving the pieces as close to the center as possible.
External links
- Official PÜNCT website
- PÜNCT at BoardGameGeek
- Rozmiarek, Ed. "The Game Ranch Game Links". www.rozmiarek.info. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- "Pünct". Gameblog. 2005-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
- PÜNCT" (PDF). boardspace.net.