Sistance's EXPLODE!
the rules

gameplay

Sistance's Explode! is a strategy game for two players. It's a board game with 5 * 5 fields.
Both players act alternately like in chess, halma or 9 men's morris.



(the board at the beginning of a new game)

Like in many games of that kind of game each player knows everything about the actual game state. There are no hidden elements only one player knows like in many card games.
In Sistance's Explode! you won't find any random elements like in dice games. The right tactics and strategy are the one and only factors that will lead to success.

goal

turns

Every player owns some fields at the beginning of a new game. While her turn a player can upgrade one of her counters by 1.


Stars represent your counters. If they have a counter value of 5, they can attack and conquer fields next to them directly.

If you upgrade a counter with a value of 5, it will explode. That will result in several effects.

• First the value of the exploding counter will be decreased by 5.
  Because the counter must have had a value of more than 5 to explode, its value will still be 1 or higher.
• The direct horizontal and vertical neighbours of the exploding counter, regardless of being a free field or owned by the opponent, will be conquered by the player.
  Diagonal fields are no neighbours.
• The value of all neighbouring fields are increased by 1 as if the player had increased them manually. Free fields will get an initial value of 1.

Attention: If you increase the value of a neighbouring counter above 5 it will explode as well and will conquer the area next to them, too. This applies even if this counter formerly was property of the opponent.


(The red player can explode many counters in a chain reaction.)


(the result of the former game state after exploding her own counter)

winning

A player wins if she can conquer every counter of the opponent. If she looses every of her counter during a conquest of the opponent, she looses the game. Both situations will end the game. A draw is impossible.
You do not need to conquer the whole board to win. It's absolutely sufficient to wipe out the opponent's counters.

(The blue player wins without conquering the whole board.)

strategies

• Try to expand very fast to get more possibilities.
  It is often a good choice to prohibit the opponent's expansion.
• Counters with a value of 5 placed in "2nd row" are ideal defenders because they can protect (or virtually threaten) own fields and reconquer them if needed.
  Defensively playing players only use their "5 valuers" near borders if they can achieve more than they will loose by the opponent's next turn.
• Advanced players try to construct states, that allow them to attack opponent fields without allowing the opponent to threaten these states.
  In example you can attack opponent fields with a threatened field that has a value of 4 using the special 5554 state.
  
  (example: a 5554 state)