Description

This game was invented by D. J. Springgay who is a well-known chess player, so the game is worthy of attention. Zug is an abstract game for two players with simple rules and fairly obvious affinities to several well-known games and has been well tested in practice. A provisional patent application for the game was filed in October, 1971.

The game is played on a square board composed of 17 squares by 17 alternately coloured light and dark, the corner squares being dark. Two lines marked on the board are called advance lines (between the 4th and 5th rank and the 13th and 14th rank depending on the end you are starting).
These are of two contrasting colours but otherwise identical. Each player has twelve. The player of the dark pieces places nine men on rank 1 and the remaining three on any squares on rank two. The player of the light pieces does the same on ranks 17 and 16 respectively.

The players are referred to as Black (the player of the dark pieces) and White, regardless of the colours of the men.

The object of the game is to be the first to move all one’s pieces to the opposite end of the board such that the 1st (17th) rank is occupied by nine pieces with the remaining three pieces on the 2nd (16th) rank.

A piece may jump over one or more other pieces of either colour provided that each jump is over an adjacent piece to a vacant square and in a forward direction only.

Neither player may play a piece to the end rank unless all his pieces are forward of his advance line. When a player has all his pieces forward of his opponent’s advance line, he is permitted to move pieces backwards if he wishes.