Project 8x8 & 48 - #3 Lines of Action

Over the coming weeks I’ll offer a few short reviews of what I see as the best games to be played on an 8x8 checkerboard with the added constraint you have only two sets of 24 pieces – basically you buy two matching common checker sets.

This is #3.

Lines of Action, at least for me, is arguably the best game that will be included in this exploration of games playable on an 8x8 checkerboard with only 48 checkers to use.

This one actually only uses 12 pieces per player so is fully playable with a common check set, making it so easily accessible. In the past commercial sets were available, but you certainly don’t need to search one out to play this beauty.

Each player starts with six pieces set on facing sides.

The object of LoA is to get all your pieces into a single connected group. A group of pieces is connected if they occupy an unbroken chain of adjacent spaces, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

To do that pieces move in any direction, but with the caveat the piece moves exactly the number of squares as there are pieces in line of intended movement.

Pieces may move over friendly pieces but not land on them.

Pieces may land on enemy pieces but not move over them. When they land on an opponent piece it is removed from the board. Captures can be a two--edged sword, advantageous to disrupt an opponent’s connections, or open a path for yourself, but also reducing the total number of pieces the opponent must connect.

Canadian designer

That’s it for rules.

A variant mixes the starting positions for a little change of pace -- it's called 'Scrambled Eggs'.

Everything about this absolute classic created by Canadian Claude Soucie in 1969 is super simple – well except being really good at it.

Games of LoA tend to be dances where one must balance offence and defence as you try for the win condition.

I’ll conclude by adding I have created a ‘geeklist’ on boardgamegeek.com listing Canadian-created abstract strategy games – now more than 70 – and I would put LoA at the top of that list if rating them for ‘best’ of the bunch.