Fox and Geese
Fox and Geese is an old European hunt game played on a plus-shaped board of 33 points. One side is a single fox that starts in the middle. The other side is a flock of thirteen geese packed into the lower arm and the row just above it.
The match is lopsided by design. The flock wins through sheer numbers, while the fox is the only piece allowed to capture. You can take either role against the computer, or let a friend take the other side on the same device, all inside a browser tab.
How to play Fox and Geese
Geese open the game. Each turn, one piece takes one step along a line to a free point next to it. The fox may step up, down, left or right. A goose can step upward or sideways but can never head back down the board.
To capture, the fox leaps a goose beside it and lands on the empty point beyond, and that goose is removed. After a capture the fox can leap again from its new spot if another goose is exposed, even in a new direction. Tap the fox when you want the chain to end. Geese cannot capture at all.
Box the fox in so it has no move on its turn, and the geese win. The fox wins by thinning the flock down to two, or by leaving the geese with no legal move.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move a piece | Arrow keys and Enter on the piece, then on the target point | Click a piece, then an empty neighbor | Tap a piece, then an empty neighbor |
| Continue or end a fox chain | — | Click the next landing point, or the fox to stop | Tap the next landing point, or the fox to stop |
| Play the computer | — | vs Computer, pick geese or fox and a level, New game | vs Computer, pick a side and level, New game |
| Take back | — | Click Undo | Tap Undo |
Tips
- Push the geese forward as a solid front. A gap with an empty point behind a goose is exactly what the fox is looking for.
- Do not let a goose wander past the fox. Since geese never go backward, that goose has left the fight for good.
- Fill the two side wings of the board early. It shrinks the space the fox can run around in.
- As the fox, look for two geese with holes behind them in a row. One move can turn into a double capture.
- A fox in the tip of an arm has very few exits. Keep the fox near the center, where the geese have trouble surrounding it.
If you like Fox and Geese, try these
Bagh-ChalAnother lopsided hunt on a lined board, except four tigers now face twenty goats, so the hunters have more teeth and the herd more bodies.
HnefataflUneven armies again, but the lone piece here is a king racing for a corner while a ring of attackers closes in.
Questions
Is it easier to win as the fox or the geese?
The sides feel very different. The geese need patience and tight formation, while the fox mostly needs sharp eyes for open jumps, so many new players find the fox simpler to start with.
Can the geese move backward in Fox and Geese?
No. A goose may go up the board or sideways, never down, so every step upward is permanent.
Does the computer get harder in Fox and Geese?
Yes. There are Easy, Medium and Hard settings, and on Hard the computer considers your best answer before choosing its own move.
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