Andantino

Andantino may be played on the large version of the Havannah board, shown above. The game commences with the board empty of counters.

No. of Players

Two

Equipment

The marketed version of this game does not utilize a board at all and only hexagonal playing counters that fit together and a flat surface are required for play. Since the tiles placed are never moved, this game can alternatively be played on hexagonal paper with the players using pens of two colors. Further, many different sized boards could be used for the play of this game, but the large version of the Havannah board with 271 cells should be quite sufficient as the standard. In theory, 136 white counters and 135 black counters are required for play, but typically far less will be played before most games end.

History

Andantino was invented in 1995 by David Smith.

Objective

The objective of both players is to achieve one of the two following formations and the first player to do so wins the game:

• A straight line of five friendly counters.

• An enclosure or ring that is a continuous loop around one or more of the opponent's counters. This ring will require no less than six friendly counters. There may be empty spaces inside the ring, so long as there is at least one opposing counter inside it.

Play

Turns alternate with white playing first. On the first turn, white drops a counter near the center of the board. Next, black drops on an adjacent empty cell to the white counter. After that, each dropped stone must be adjacent to at least two other stones (either color).

Sources