25 Men's GRYB by Jeff Wood

This game is fashioned after the ancient game Nine Men's Morris.  It was devised during the GRYB Game Invention Workshop at GEN CON So Cal in December of 2003.  First tested with 16 men each, it was expanded to 25 men each to lengthen the game.

To Start

Set up the GRYB game boardanna.  This game uses no dice.  Each of two players should choose 25 of one color men (tokens), each color distinguishable from the other.

To Play

This game has two phases.  In the first phase, men are introduced onto the game board.  In the second phase, after all the 50 men have been initially played, players move men on the game board.

The Object

The object of the game is to reduce your opponents number of men to three or fewer by forming GRYBs with your own men, and removing his men for each GRYB you form.

Forming a GRYB is accomplished by covering all four nodes of any one quadrangle with your men.  Different level GRYBs result in different numbers of your opponents men removed.  A top level GRYB is worth 1 opponent's man removed, next level - 2 men, the third level down - 3 men, and the bottom level is worth 4 opponent's men removed.  You also get to choose which of your opponent's men to remove and the removed tokens remain out of play for the duration of the game.

Phase One

Decide who starts and alternate turns, each player putting an un-played man onto any one unoccupied node per turn.  As a player gets a GRYB, men are removed as explained above.  In this phase, no men are moved once they have been placed unless to be completely removed resulting from an opponent's GRYB.  Once all 50 men have been introduced into play, the first phase ends and you begin phase two.

Phase Two

Players continue alternating turns.  Each turn a player must move a token in one of four ways: sideways, up a level, down a level, and by side-stepping a dimension (moves are explained in detail later).  A player must move on a turn, and as a player makes a GRYB, he may remove his opponent's men as in the first phase.  

Moves

A move up a level is a move from a node of a quadrangle to the node a level up encircled by the quadrangle.

Conversely, a move down moves from a node to one of the nodes a level down encircling the starting node.

A sideways (lateral) move is from a node to another node one length away on the same quadrangle.

Side-stepping one dimension is a move from a node to another node of similar description, except in one dimension (level) the color may vary to a color of a node to the side.  For example, GRYY and GRRY are among the descriptions of the "Bottom level nodes" indicated in the figure above.  (To describe a node, use the color hierarchy beginning with the top level.  Notate the color of each level descending to the destination node.)  A legal move could be between node GRYY and node GRRY because at the third level, the color is yellow in the first node description, and it's neighboring color red in the second node description.  So in the third dimension, the color varies to a color of one step away; from yellow to red.  Other legal moves from node GRYY could be to RRYY or BRYY, GYYY or GGYY, or to GRBY.  A dimensional side-step may happen on any one level, but is must be to nodes of the same level.  Also, only one level or dimension is varied and the others all remain the same.  This is essentially what you are doing in the lowest dimension of whatever level you are on when you make an ordinary sideways move.

Copyright © 2000-2007 JDB Games.

Time Vectors, GRYB, Flip Strip, Crystal Draughts, Vertical Game System, and the jdb logo are registered or claimed trademarks of JDB Games.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.