Copyright © 1989 Alberto Hernández Marcos
Just like in chess, White begins and turns alternate.
Piece moves and captures are very resembling of chess.
Princes can only move (or capture) one cell at a time, being the weakest piece.
Knights dominate the field in all three directions and have a maximum mobility of 23 moves.
White to move: the black Knight can be captured
Soldiers move normally one cell at a time...
* Moves of the White Soldiers*
But in their kingdom they can advance two cells.
Moves of a White Soldier in its kingdom
Players' kingdoms are defined by the starting area of each side:
- Pieces cannot be leaped over.
- The Prince can never be left in check, just like the King in chess!
When checkmated, the Prince must leave the board and… yield the turn.
Black to move, but its Prince is checkmated
After the black Prince leaves it's White's move again (this game would go on since the opponent is not yet King).
Soldiers reaching their Prince’s starting position promote to Prince.
Black to move: this Soldier can promote to Prince
NOTE:
- The new Prince cannot be left in check.
- Players can only have one Prince.
A player wins when its Prince has reached the crown.
A player wins too if, keeping the Prince, the opponent is left with no pieces.
The game is a draw when the player to move has no legal move and is not in check.
It’s Black’s move, but its Prince is stalemated
The game is a draw as well if no Princes are left on the board.
The game is a draw if the same position occurs three times with the same player to move.