Stalmon - Rules

Created by: Doug Puccetti

Board and Pieces:
Stalmon is played on a square grid board. 4x4, 6x6, and 8x8 are standard grid sizes for Stalmon.
Each player is given ‘chips’ similar to checkers. The number of chips is dependent on the board size.

Object:
Be the first player to create a stack of exactly 5 chips on any square on the board.

Number of Players: 2

Rules:
Game-play consists of players alternating turns, placing one of their chips onto a vacant square of the board.
If your chip is placed adjacent to any of your own chips orthogonally (up, down, left, or right), those tokens stack on top of the newly placed chip (diagonals do not count).
If your chip is placed adjacent to an opponent’s stack, you disrupt it by removing one chip from their stack and placing it either in a blank adjacent square orthogonally (up, down, left, or right) or on an adjacent opponent’s stack (if available). The chip is permanently removed from the game if no valid spaces are available.
You can disrupt multiple stacks with one chip placement. The player decides which chip stack to displace first.

Note: Stacks cannot exceed five chips. If placing a chip would create a stack larger than 5, the move is illegal and must be redone.

Winning the game

The first player to create a stack of exactly 5 chips wins.
If all chips are placed without a player creating a stack of 5 or no more legal moves remain, the game ends in a draw.