Fanorona
Fanorona is Madagascar's national board game, and its captures work unlike anything in most Western games. The board is a 5 by 9 grid of points tied together by straight and slanted lines, and the two armies of 22 pieces fill nearly all of it at the start.
Nobody ever hops over a piece. You take enemies by moving next to a row of them, or by pulling away from one, and the entire row in that direction is removed. Challenge a friend sitting beside you, or pick Easy, Medium or Hard and let the computer push back, all without leaving the browser.
How to play Fanorona
White goes first. A turn means sliding one of your pieces along a line to an empty point beside it. Every point has horizontal and vertical connections, and roughly half of them add diagonals too.
Approach is the first way to capture: finish your slide directly next to an enemy piece in the line you moved along, and that piece plus every enemy piece lined up behind it disappears. Withdrawal is the reverse: slide straight away from an enemy piece you were touching, and that line is taken instead. When a single move could do either, two buttons let you decide.
The piece that just captured may keep going. Each extra step has to change direction and cannot revisit a point used earlier in the same turn, and Done capturing ends the chain when you like. You must capture when a capture exists. Clear the enemy off the board, or leave them without a move, to win.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slide a piece | Arrow keys and Enter on the piece, then on the empty point | Click a piece, then an empty neighboring point | Tap a piece, then an empty neighboring point |
| Pick approach or withdrawal | — | Click Capture forward or Capture backward | Tap Capture forward or Capture backward |
| Stop a chain | — | Click Done capturing | Tap Done capturing |
| Play the computer | — | vs Computer, choose white or black and a level, New game | vs Computer, choose a color and level, New game |
| Take back | — | Click Undo | Tap Undo |
Tips
- Scan for rows of enemy pieces with an empty point in front of them. Approaching a line of four removes all four in one slide.
- Every move has a front and a back. Before you slide, check whether leaving your current point also triggers a withdrawal behind you.
- Captures are compulsory, which you can exploit. Leave one piece hanging so that taking it puts your opponent where you can sweep a bigger line.
- Points with diagonal lines connect in eight directions. Pieces parked there have far more ways to attack and escape.
- Late in the game, room to move matters more than piece count. A few pieces with open lines can beat a larger crowded group.
If you like Fanorona, try these
SurakartaUnusual capture rules continue, as stones must ride a curved corner track before they can take.
CheckersChaining captures stays exciting on a classic 8x8 board, with diagonal jumps and crowned kings to build.
Questions
How do you capture in Fanorona?
You either slide up to an enemy piece (approach) or slide directly away from one (withdrawal). In both cases the whole unbroken line of enemy pieces in that direction is taken off.
Is capturing required in Fanorona?
Yes. If any capture is available you must make one, but once your chain is under way you can stop it early with Done capturing.
Does Fanorona keep my game if I close the tab?
The game in progress is stored in your browser, so reopening the page brings the board back. A private window or cleared browser data will wipe it.
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