There is something very satisfying to be playing a game that
people were playing decades, and in some cases centuries ago. I suppose I feel
somehow connected to the long tradition of board gaming.
So when Queen’s Guard arrived
from Kanare_Abstract I was happy in the sense this is a game which
dates back to 1842.
Queen's Guard, also commonly known as Agon, is played
on a hexagonal board – cloth in this case -- comprised of 91 smaller hexagons,
six to each side of the board.
The central hex is known as the throne; most Agon boards
feature alternating colours of hexes in rings, starting from the six hexes
surrounding the throne.
Each player has one queen piece and six guard pieces, which
are wooden here, and the queen has an actual little crown.
Pieces start in alternating starting positions on the
board's outer ring.
Pieces move only a single step, either along the ring they
are on, or closer to the centre.
Pieces may be captured if they are surrounded on two sides
in a straight line – custodial capture. The captured player must then relocate
his piece to the outer ring of the board.
To win the game, a player must have his queen on the throne
and surrounded by all six of his guards.
This game with the rules – simple as they may be – is a
tedious slog to nowhere good. It is a game where the win condition is almost
impossible to achieve.
Now Kanare
Kato with Kanare_Abstract does offer up a couple of variant
suggestions in this small box edition which help – largely that captured pieces
leave play and you win if your queen is in centre spot surrounded by whatever
guards she has left – which breathes a level of playability into this one the
core rules do not offer.
Check it out, and the full range of generally fine games
offered, at kanare-abstract.com
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