Project 8x8 & 48 - #5 3 Crowns

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 #5.

Three Crowns, a game designed by Larry Black created back in 2000 is certainly one of the lesser known games to make this little project, but certainly deserves to be included.

With Three Crowns you begin with each player (as all of the games in this project it is for two) having 10 pieces which are placed around the outer edge of the board (see photo).

In the game you are trying to create Triokas. A Troika is formation of three or more ‘uncrowned’ stones in a row, all belonging to the same player, in an orthogonal or diagonal direction.

To alleviate a first-player advantage the first player must move the same stone on the first two turns.

On a turn a player has a few options depending on the in-game situation.

The first is to move either a crowned or uncrowned stone – more on that below. Pieces move to an adjacent empty cell – think a king in chess. 

If an uncrowned stone becomes part of a 'Troika' after moving, it becomes crowned – add an off board piece as in creating a checker king.

You can also make a jump with any piece. The jump though must make a double jump over two opponent stones.

However, there are some restrictions here, and the real depth of the game comes out. There’s a lot to digest but therein lies the attraction of this game.

Crowned stones can only jump over opponent uncrowned stones, and uncrowned stones can only jump opponent crowned stones. 

So a jumping move consists of moving a stone two cells in a direction (orthogonal or diagonal) into an empty cell while passing directly over the opponent stone. After making one jumping move, a stone must make a second. The second jumping move can be made in the same direction, or in a different direction. 

Also a third jump move is not permitted. 

If no second jumping move is possible, then the first jumping move cannot be made.

Jumping moves are not compulsory.

When two uncrowned stones are jumped then the second jumped uncrowned stone is captured and removed from the game. 

When two Crowned stones are jumped, as long as it would not become part a 'Troika', the second jumped crowned stone becomes uncrowned. If a 'Troika' would result from uncrowning, the second crowned stone is captured and removed from the game – so when to jump is a big decision at times.

If an uncrowned stone becomes part of a 'Troika' after making the double jump, it is crowned.

You win if you are the player that first captures three stones, or makes a crowned Troika (i.e., a Troika with three crowned stones).

The more recent LoT (Lines of Three), a 2012 design from Néstor Romeral Andrés reminds quite a lot of this one, it being simpler and Three Crowns more ‘thinky’

Again if you are going to explore the basic premise of this ‘list’ then Three Crowns is a must to try. Just make sure you give it several plays because initially this one can be a bit hard to absorb in terms of its intricacy.