Description

???? (Donden) is a Japanese abstract game for two players, similar to Reversi. The game has three wooden boards with 4x4 grids, and 48 chips marked on one side.

Donden was created through collaboration, born out of a project to see if something could be done using thinned wood from Sagamihara City. The game is packaged in a wrapped sleeve, made of Japanese paper. The chips are stored in the back side of the boards.

The three boards are arranged in a line. The players place two chips each from their supply in the centre, one player using the marked side.

Taking turns, a player either places a chip on the board, looking to attack as in Reversi, by flipping opponent's chips. Or a player may discard a chip and move one of the three boards around (a disturbance), thus causing an attack.

By taking an end board, for example, the player can place it at right angles, making an L-shape. This puts one of their pieces outside their opponent's, causing an attack.

The game ends when one player runs out of chips. The other player gets a final turn. Then the players get a point for each chip they have on the board, plus a point for each chip left in hand (not discards). The player with the most points wins.
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