Sua Ghin Gnua

Sua Ghin Gnua is a two-player abstract strategy board game from Thailand, formerly known as Siam. Another name for the game is Tigers and Oxen. It is a hunt game played on a 5x5 square grid with only orthogonal lines. One player plays the three tigers, and the other player plays the twelve oxen. The board is empty in the beginning. Players first drop their pieces onto the board, and then are able to move them. The tigers can capture by the short leap method as in draughts and Alquerque, but the oxen attempt to elude and at the same time hem in the tiger. Although Sua Ghin Gnua is played on a 5x5 square grid, it cannot be classified with the more common hunt games such as the tiger games, leopard games, and Fox games. The 5x5 square grid is not an Alquerque board since it is missing the diagonal lines, and therefore, Sua Ghin Gnua is not a tiger game. It is also neither a leopard game or a Fox game since the leopard game boards are triangular, and the Fox game boards have a cross pattern. It therefore can be assumed that Sua Ghin Gnua may belong to a lesser known subfamily of hunt games with only orthogonal lines. Another game that may fit into this subfamily is a game from Myanmar called Tiger and Buffaloes. Myanmar happens to border Thailand geographically. Another game from Myanmar is Lay Gwet Kyah that is presumed to be similar to Sua Ghin Gnua. Perhaps some versions of Catch the Hare from Europe and the Americas may fit into this subfamily as well. Sua Ghin Gnua was described by the game historian, R.C. Bell, in his book "Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations" (1969) on page 42.

Goal

The three tigers win if they capture enough of the oxen so that the oxen cannot effectively block and immobilize their movements.

The oxen win if they block and immobilize all three tigers.

Equipment

A 5x5 square grid is used consisting of twenty-five intersection points. The square grid consist only of orthogonal lines, that is, there are no diagonal lines. It is not an Alquerque board. There are three tiger pieces that are black, and twelve oxen pieces that are white.

Game Play and Rules

1. Players decide who will play the Tiger, and who will play the Oxen. The Tigers have three black tiger pieces, and the Oxen have twelve white oxen pieces.

2. The board is empty in the beginning. Players first drop their pieces onto the board. R.C. Bell unfortunately did not describe in detail how they are dropped onto the board. In some other hunt games, the Oxen would probably start first dropping one oxen onto the board, and then the Tiger would drop one tiger onto a vacant point on the board, with both players continuing dropping their pieces in this fashion alternating their turns. Obviously, with this method, the Tiger would stop dropping its pieces much earlier compared to the Oxen since the Tiger only has three pieces. After all three tigers have been dropped, then the tigers can move and capture. Similarly, after the Oxen has dropped its twelve pieces (which will end in twelve turns), the oxen can then move. Another method that could be employed is the one used in the Myanmar game of Tiger and Buffaloes. The Oxen would start first and drop four of its pieces, and then the Tiger would drop one of its pieces. Then the Oxen would drop another four pieces, and then the Tiger would drop another tiger piece. Then the Oxen would drop its remaining four oxen, and then Tiger would drop its remaining one tiger. However the game is truly played, players can decide among themselves how to fairly start the game.

3. Both tigers and oxen move (in any direction) along a line onto a vacant adjacent point on the board. All lines are orthogonal, therefore, all movements are left, right, forward, and backwards. Only one tiger or oxen may be moved in a turn. Players alternate their turns.

4. A tiger, however, can instead leap over an adjacent oxen, and capture it (short leap method as in draughts). The leap must be in a straight line, and the tiger must land on a point on the board immediately beyond the oxen. The leap must also be in an orthogonal direction since leaps must also follow the orthogonal pattern of the board. The leaped oxen is removed from the board. R.C. Bell did not mention if multiple leaps and captures are allowed.

Related Games

References

    External links

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