Play Abalone

Play AbaloneFrom the back cover: "This must have compendium is a guide to the classic board game of Abalone, a no chance full information abstract strategy game, like Chess or Checkers, with simple rules that charm old and young alike into a lifetime of mastering this beautiful and quick paced marble game of managing and directing your resources. In 2023, Abalone celebrates its 35th anniversary. When it was first sold in 1988, the authornow a Dan level Go

From the back cover:
"This must-have compendium is a guide to the classic board game of Abalone, a no-chance full information abstract strategy game, like Chess or Checkers, with simple rules that charm old and young alike into a lifetime of mastering this beautiful and quick-paced marble game of managing and directing your resources.

In 2023, Abalone celebrates its 35th anniversary. When it was first sold in 1988, the authorÑnow a Dan-level Go playerÑdeemed the game not too interesting as it invites inexperienced players to adopt a defensive no-lose strategy, resulting in a tie. But he found himself outmaneuvered against experienced human players, despite his best defensive efforts. This caused a conversion: he concluded that the subtleties of the game hide its true depth.

Now, he is on a quest to contribute original ideas to Abalone playersÑveterans and newcomersÑthat will hopefully launch Abalone into a new era of popularity, as the only way to win the game is through the art of gathering your army first and then outmaneuvering your opponent with superior skill.

The first part of the bookÑmore than halfÑcovers the rules of the original game of Abalone and its variants (including multiplayer variants for up to 6 players). But it also introduces new ideas, such as alternative setups, stratagems, and handicapping, to make the game more accessible to a wider audience. An essay about the future of Abalone and AI illustrates the ongoing quest for understanding this interesting game.

The second part of the book features the rules of 16 (!) other games playable on an Abalone board; just add marbles. Some games are ported (identical rules, played on an Abalone board), some are adapted (changed rules to accommodate a different board and marbles), and some are new.

This revised 6th edition features the original games Hexa and TaiHanGi from previous editions, and a bonus game Pinball, designed in 2019, just a week after the publication of the 5th edition."