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Fanorona is a game from Madagascar invented during the seventeenth century usually played on the ground. It
was during the storming of the capital of Madagascar by the French in 1895 that the game supposedly was played
by the Queen of Madagascar and her advisors, who believed that the outcome of the game would predict who
would win the forthcoming battle.
Number of Players: 2
Objective: To capture all the opponent’s pieces
TO BEGIN PLAY: Place each player’s pieces on the board as shown above. One space is left vacant in the center
of the board. Decide which player will play with the white pieces. That player takes the first turn. Playing pieces are
moved along the lines, diagonally, forward, backwards or sideways to a vacant intersection. If a player moves a
piece next to an opponents piece without a vacant point in between, then all the opponent’s pieces that extend in
an unbroken line from that player’s piece (in the direction of the attack) are captured and removed from the board.
If the line of the opponent’s pieces is broken by a vacant point or by one of the player’s own pieces, then the
opponent’s pieces are captured up to that point only. If a player moves a piece away from a line of the opponent’s
pieces, then the opponent’s pieces in the line of the withdrawal move are captured and removed from the board. If
a player’s move threatens two or more rows of the opponent’s pieces, the player must decide which row to capture.
TO PLAY: The first player is allowed only one move. From then on, each player may continue taking moves until it
is no longer possible to capture any of the opponent’s pieces . BUT each move must be along a different line of
the board, so that even if the same piece is being moved, it must be moved in different directions. The player
capturing all the opponent’s pieces is the winner.