Hijara

Deconstructed by: Esther Yang

Goals of the Game

The goal of the Hijara is to score more points than your opponent by placing your stones ( or X's and O's) on the board, building and/or blocking point winning combinations.

Core Mechanics

Players choose their color (blue or yellow) and use 32 stones to take turns placing their stones on, one at a time, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 in the squares on any square, in numerical order. Therefore stones must be placed on the lowest numbered open section in that square. So for every square, the first stone must be placed on the 1, the second on the 2, etc. Depending on the placement of the stones, players can earn points by forming point awarding combinations. There are 3 different ways of scoring points.

10 points - any 4 numbers of a kind in 4 squares in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

15 points - 4 in numerical sequence (1, 2, 3, 4) in 4 squares in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

20 points - 4 in one square.

Space of The Game

The playing field of the game is made up of 16 squares, which is divided into 4 smaller squares labeled 1-4, that are placed in a 4x4 manner. Also on either ends of the field is a score keeping ladder from 5-65 with increments of 5. Here is a picture of the game board: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hijara_game_board.jpg.

Objects, Attributes, and States

The objects of this game consists of the 32 yellow and blue stones, and also the scoreboards on either ends of the game board. There are also many attributes to this game. For example, the player who chooses the blue stone will proceed first. The 3 combinations that can be formed can also be attributes, which then become states since they hold point values. Other States in Hijara include occupied/unoccupied squares, and the state of the square when it has become unplayable because of the numerical order rule. The board has reached a finished state when both players use up all of their 32 stones on the squares.

Actions

Operative actions - placing a stone on a square.

Resultant actions - by strategically placing stones on the squares, players can either block their opponent from completing a combination or successfully form a combination to earn points.

As the game progresses, players can earn several point combinations within a single turn:

If the player puts a stone on 4, a total of 25 points can be earned ( 10 - horizontal, 15 - diagonally).

Rules

• Players must place their stones within the squares, not anywhere else on the board.

• The board must be in a 4x4 format.

• Players must place their stones according to the numerical order. For example, players cannot just put a stone anywhere they want on an empty square, they must place it on a "1" square.

• Hijara is a turn based game; and only 1 move can be made during each turn.

• The player with the blue stones always starts first.

• The game ends when all stones are placed on the board.

  • Points are won with a player's own stones.

Skills

Players must achieve a balance of offense and defense in order to get the most possible points. It is also important to be able to predict the opponent's moves, form a strategy, and make good observations. Hijara also requires players to execute their moves based on their opponent's moves since stones can only be placed in a certain order, therefore it is a good idea to try to distract the other player without them realizing your true motive.