Palo

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In the world of the Greypine books (and specifically the Moine Empire) the usual board game of choice is Palo.

What is Palo?
Palo is a board game very similar in basic idea to Chess; it even shares some pieces, rules, and terms. Some cultural and regional differences apply, but the basic game is well enough understood that anyone in the Empire can sit down and play a game with about anyone else.

Setup
The Palo board is slightly larger (in number of squares) than a Chess board, and is not as symmetrical. One side of the board features more black tiles which block movement. Most people play the game in pairs even though it can support up to 4 players.

A line of 14 Pawns fronts each players pieces, like chess.

Behind the Pawns are 2 Rooks (Towers), 2 Knights, 2 Lancers, 2 Wardens, and 4 Shieldmen, as well as the Empress and Voice pieces.

The Dukes' Game
Dukes' Games have 2 Nobles, and 2 more Pawns. There are also 2 more layers of blue squares around the board called the Court Tiles.

Pawns

 * Can move forward two spaces, or a single space left, right, or diagonally.


 * Pawns may only reverse direction upon reaching the far end of the board from their start.


 * Pawns are a Commoner Piece and cannot enter Court Tiles.

Rooks

 * May move in straight lines up to impassable Black Tiles, or enemy pieces.
 * An Empress Piece may move directly to either Rook that is not blocked by an enemy piece, or impassable tile.


 * Rooks are a Commoner Piece and cannot enter Court Tiles.

Shieldmen

 * May move 1 tiles in any direction, or 2 tiles forward.
 * Shieldmen cannot move if an enemy piece is in a neighboring tile.
 * Shieldmen are a Commoner Piece and cannot enter Court Tiles

Lancers

 * Lancers may move 3 tiles in any direction.
 * May pass through black tiles IF there destination tile holds an enemy piece.
 * May pass through friendly pieces.
 * Lancers are a Commoner Piece and cannot enter Court Tiles

Knights

 * Like Chess, Knights move two tiles forward, and then one tile sideways. Move 1 tile in any direction in Court Tiles.
 * If there are 2 or more pieces in the Knights Path, they will take the first, and stop short of the next, otherwise they will only take pieces at their destination. (unless there are 2 or more enemy pieces, a Knight cannot move through an enemy held tile.)

Nobles

 * Move 1 tile in any direction, or up to 2 Court Tiles in any direction.
 * Nobles cannot take any pieces other than other Nobles, Voices, or Empresses.

Voice

 * Moves diagonally any distance, or 1 tile straight or to the sides. Moves 3 tiles in any direction while in Court Tiles.
 * May move any distance sideways to reach the Empress Piece.

Empress

 * May move up to 3 tiles in any direction unless blocked. No change in movement in Court Tiles.
 * The Empress may move any distance in a straight line to reach a Rook, and any distance sideways to reach the Voice piece.

Tiles

 * Normal tiles. These have no special rules and are move prevalent. Most boards have alternating grids of two tones (again, like Chess) for these.
 * Black Tiles. These are impassable by any pieces except under specific rules (See: Lancer, Above).
 * Route Tiles. These are usually vivid red with a single triangle on one side. These tiles may only be entered from the direction of the triangle.
 * Sancuary Tiles. Usually white, there are only 4 of these tiles on the board. An Empress piece in a Sancuary Tile may NOT be captured unless that player has no other pieces on the board, or the opposing player has at least one other piece adjacent to the tile besides the capturing piece.
 * Court Tiles. Only present in the Dukes' Game, these are 2 layers of (almost always blue) tiles around the outer edge of the board. Some pieces (see above) cannot enter Court Tiles, and many units that can have different movement rules there.

Tokens
Each player gets 3 ring tokens to distribute at any point in the game.

A ring token cannot be removed from a piece and is removed from play with the piece.

Only 1 Token may be applied to any 1 piece.

Typical Rule:  A single ring token allows most pieces it is placed on to move a single space farther than normal in any direction (this is a popular tactic with Knights as it allows them to move a space in any direction besides their hooked movement).

Exceptions:
 * 1 Token on a Shieldman
 * The Piece may no longer move, or be moved through by anything.
 * Cannot be taken by any enemy pieces unless there is a second enemy piece already adjacent besides the capturing piece.
 * 1 Token on a Pawn
 * The Pawn may not move farther forward, diagonally, or to the sides, but it may back up without reaching the far side of the board.
 * 1 Token on a Lancer
 * The Piece does not gain movement distance, but may move 1 tile at a time through Court Tiles.
 * 2 Tokens on a Shieldman
 * A very chancy move with potentially disasterous side effects.
 * The Piece may not move or be moved through by anything.
 * The Piece cannot be taken by any enemy piece at all.
 * Any piece from ANY side in any adjacent tile to the Shieldman is immediately removed from play, as is any piece moved into those surrounding tiles for the rest of the game.
 * This piece no longer counts as a remaining piece for an Empress in Sancuary.

End Game
Palo may end in 2 ways.

Stalemate

 * No legal moves by either player are possible, or both players agree that they will continue to outmanuever eachother for too long.

Checkmate

 * One player has a piece in a position to take the others' (or last others') empress.
 * A player is out of the game as soon as their Empress is taken (if more than 2 players) or has no way to escape (checkmate between 2 players).