Lines of Action: Encyclopedia II - Lines of Action - Rules

Lines of Action - Rules

Lines of Action - Initial layout

Lines of Action is played on a standard chessboard, with the same algebraic notation for ranks and files. Each player controls twelve checkers, which are initially arrayed as follows:

Lines of Action - Goal

The object of the game is to bring all of one's checkers together into a contiguous body (8-connexity).

Lines of Action - Movement summary

• Players alternate moves, with black having the first move.
• Checkers move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
• A checker moves exactly as many spaces as there are checkers (both friendly and enemy) on the line in which it is moving.
• A checker may jump over friendly checkers, but not over an enemy checker.
• A checker may land on a square occupied by an enemy checker, resulting in the latter's capture and removal from the game.

Lines of Action - Movement diagrams

Players alternate moves, with black having the first move. Checkers move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A checker moves exactly as many spaces as there are checkers (both friendly and enemy) on the line in which it is moving. For example, black may open with c8-c6. His checker moves two spaces because there are two checkers in the line (c8-c1) in which black is moving.

A checker may not jump over an enemy checker. Thus in the diagram below, white can't play a6-d6, even though there are three checkers in row 6. White might instead play a6-c4, moving two spaces because there are two checkers in the diagonal (a6-f1) in which white is moving.

A checker may jump over friendly checkers. Thus black may continue with e8-b5, jumping his own checker. He moves three spaces because there are three checkers in the diagonal (a4-e8) in which he is moving.

A checker may land on a square occupied by an enemy checker, resulting in the latter's capture and removal from the game. For example, white may play h3-f1, capturing the black checker on f1.

A player who is reduced to a single checker wins the game, because his pieces are by definition united. If a move results, due to a capture, in each player having all his pieces in a contiguous body, then either the player moving wins, or the game is a draw, depending on the rules in force at the particular tournament.

Lines of Action - Simultaneous connection

In the original 1969 edition of A Gamut of Games, simultaneous connection was described as a draw. In the second edition, the rules were changed to declare this a win for the player moving. Here is Sid Sackson's note in the preface to the second edition:

"Claude Soucie and I are all that remains of N.Y.G.A. At his request, I have corrected an error in the rules for LINES OF ACTION, eliminating possible draws."

However, despite the expressed intention of the inventor of LOA, most present day tournaments score simultaneous connection as a draw.

In the diagram below, white to move could capture with h8-f6, resulting in both players having entirely connected formations. However if the tournament rules declare this a draw rather than a win, white is better off to play g5-g8 which wins unambiguously.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Rules", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki