Shax (board game)
Encyclopedia
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
played in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
(especially in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
). Its origins dating back centuries, it is still popular today.
Shax is popular among men in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, where it is also known as Jar and Mororova and is usually played by marking a board on the ground and using stones or sticks as pieces. The game has a large influence on Somali literature
Somali literature
Somalian literature ranges from Islamic poetry and prose produced by the region's scholars and Sheikhs of centuries past to works of fiction from contemporary writers.-Islamic literature:...
, which often mentions gameplay and strategies. In the historical nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic lifestyle of the Somali people
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
, Shax was a method of communication between different clans
Somali clan
The demographics of Somalia describes the condition and overview of Somalia's inhabitants. Demographic topics include basic education, health and population statistics, as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.-Somalis:...
.
Rules
Shax is similar to Nine Men's MorrisNine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is an abstract strategy board game for two players that emerged from the Roman Empire. The game is also known as Nine Man Morris, Mill, Mills, Merels, Merelles, and Merrills in English....
and uses the same board, but in Shax, mills formed during placement do not immediately result in the removal of opposing pieces. When placement is finished, if any mills have been formed, the player who formed the first one may remove one opposing piece, and the other player may do the same whether they formed a mill or not. Play then continues as before. If no mills were formed during placement, the second player to move during placement is the first to move after it.
If at any time a player has no moves, they do not lose; instead, their opponent is required to open an intersection for them by moving. If this freeing movement happens to form a mill, no piece may be removed. The "flying" rule is not used.