Tigers & Goats 3.8

Test your strategic thinking with this ancient board game from India. The game corresponds to a Marathi rendition of the Bagh-Chal board game originating in Nepal. It is a two-player game where one player commands the tigers, and the other manages the goats. The primary goal for goats is to methodically progress to ensnare all tigers, while the tigers strive to impede this advancement by hindering the goats.

At the inception of the game, goats are the first to make a move. Their movement is limited to advancing one square in any direction and may not leap over other goats or tigers.

On the contrary, tigers exhibit a movement pattern akin to the rook piece in chess – traversing any number of squares either horizontally or vertically. Tigers possess the unique ability to leap over a single goat should there be an unoccupied square beyond it. In this scenario, the goat is eliminated from play. However, tigers are restricted from diagonal movements or leaping over two goats simultaneously.

The conclusion of the game materializes when either 4 goats fall victim to tigers (resulting in a tiger victory) or when the goats successfully encircle all tigers (yielding a goat triumph). The gameplay alternates between players assuming control of goats and tigers interchangeably.