Description

You command an army of stag beetles. They are fighting each other on a cloven oak tree. The winner takes the ultimate delicacy – the oozing sap. The rules are simple, yet the tactical and strategic approaches are nearly endless. The goal is to get three of your stag beetles to the opponent's front row first. To get there, you'll need to push the enemy bugs off onto other branches, crush them, and drop them from the tree.

The game is played on a 10 x 10 square board. You can use two or three beetles to displace one or two enemy beetles in columns and in rows. But watch out! Diagonal push moves are mandatory. Even if you don’t like the direction! It will often be convenient for you to let your opponent push your stag beetles out during the game as this will weaken their position. And you can use these weaknesses to your advantage.

Some weaknesses can become strengths during the game. It works both ways. In the beginning of a game, it is generally good to keep a lot of stag beetles in diagonals. However, the more you move into your opponent's territory, the more you must be vigilant that they don't take advantage of your diagonals. For instance, they could place their beetles behind yours just to make you push them towards your front row.

A popular tactic is to sacrifice some of your stag beetles by letting them fall off the tree or be crushed. This destabilizes your opponent's position, and you can easily sneak this move in. You can also let your opponent reach your first row with two of their beetles. By doing this, you gain a positional advantage. You can quickly place three of your beetles on the enemy's first rowg and win. The game is very dynamic. A position that may seem wrong can quickly turn everything around and let you win. You just need to find the right way.