Hijara
Hijara is a fun and fast 2-player, abstract, strategy board game of stone placement and point accumulation.
It has a single rule but a deceptive depth to it and really rewards players who concentrate and pay attention to the evolving state of the game board.
The combinations and permutations this one rule can create make it a complex challenge and you will become addicted to the shifting possibilities as each play opens up new dimensions (literally) to play.
Start with an empty board, end with a full board and the player with the most points is the winner.
There are three ways to score points:
4 stones of the same color on 4 numbers of a kind in a row - horizontally, vertically or diagonally = 10 points.
4 stones of the same color on 4 numbers in sequence (i.e. 1-2-3-4) - horiz., vert. or diag. = 15 points.
4 stones of the same color in one square = 20 points.
There is one way to lose points - overlooked points are forfeited.
There are 16 squares, and each square is divided into 4 numbered sections. (Take care to notice the difference.) Players take turns placing stones, one at a time, on the Hijara game board. You may place your stone on any square, but must place it on the lowest-numbered open section. So, for any square the first stone must be on the 1, second on the 2, etc.
Points are scored throughout the game as they happen, and the winner is decided by comparing totals when the last stone is played.
With only one rule - stones must be placed in the numbered squares on the board in numerical order - it sounds easy.
To comprehend, it is - to play, headaches may occur!
Hijara is always a challenge as no two games are alike and it pays to pay attention.
Hijara, Arabic for small stones, is a 3-D game on a 2-D board and listed in GAMES 1996 Top 100.
