Description

Quarod is a finite territory game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the spaces (squares) of an initially empty square board.

Each player must have access to a sufficient number of square-shaped pieces of their own color. Each piece has a line (rod) connecting its center to the center of one of its edges.

In these rules, "adjacent" always means "orthogonally adjacent".

Two adjacent opposite-colored pieces are engaged to each other if their rods form a single continuous line.

A group is a piece along with all other pieces one could reach from it through a series of steps between adjacent like-colored pieces. Thus, all pieces in a group are the same color.

The size of a group is the number of pieces in it.

On your turn, if possible, perform exactly one of these actions:

- Place two pieces of different colors on adjacent empty squares so that they are engaged to each other.

- Swap the positions of two adjacent pieces of different colors that are already engaged but not to each other, and rotate them so that they are engaged to each other.

If you have no moves available, you must pass. Passing is otherwise not allowed.

The game ends when both players pass in succession. The player with the higher score in the final position wins. Your score is the biggest group size in which you have the greater number of groups. If there is no such size, your score is zero. If both players are tied at zero points, whoever made the last move loses.

The pie rule is used in order to make the game fair. This means White will have the option, on their first turn only, to swap sides with their opponent instead of making a regular move.

-description from designer