Awithlaknakwe

Opening Position for Four Players

Alternate Names

Culin's hyphenated version of the name gives hints to its pronunciation: A-wi-thlak-na-kwe. The name translates into English as “Stone Warriors”.

No. of Players

Two or four

Equipment

An Awithlaknakwe board, six “warrior” counters of a distinguished color for each player, and two distinguished “Priest of the Bow” counters, one for each player or one for each team if playing with four players, are required for play. The Priest of the Bow counters are usually larger and/or more elaborate than the other counters.

History

Awithlaknakwe comes from the Zuni Indians of New Mexico. It is not certain if it is still played there today.

Objective

The exact nature of this game is not known. The objective and rules mentioned here are somewhat improvised as Stewart Culin's historical records of the game are inadequate for play. His record states, "The object of the game is to cross over and take the opponent's place, capturing as many men as possible by the way." The winning condition and some of the methods of play stated here are only conjectural due to the lack of specificity in the published rules, but it is just as well to presume that the first person to cross the board and attain all six of the of the opponent’s starting cells directly across from them is the winner. Of course, other methods of winning and playing can be conceived.

Play

Published versions of the rules never clarify which player goes first, but a coin toss may be used to decide. The order in which the players move can then be decided upon prior to commencing the game. Each players begins with their six counters positioned as above. All counters are played at the intersections of the board and inside of the square cells. Counters are never placed at the corners of the squares. Alternate turns entail a diagonally forward move along a line to a necessarily vacant and adjacent intersection. Opposing counters are captured by diagonal custodianship: that is, being flanked on both sides along a diagonal line. The first warrior of each player that is captured is removed, but replaced by the player's Priest of the Bow. The original rules are unclear as to where the Priest of the Bow is entered. Here, we will say that it replaces the original counter at the position it was captured in. It could, however, also be that the Priest of the Bow is entered at any position in the player’s home row. The Priest of the Bow can move one square orthogonally: right, left, or forward (note that these moves are not along a marked line) as well as diagonally forward like a warrior. It cannot, however, move backward. The Priest of the Bow and all counters may only move forward. It captures the same as a normal counter. A counter that is captured is moved back into the player's home row and must start its journey across the board over again. It is entered into any vacant intersection in the player's home row of their choosing.

Variations

As the nature of a game win is not specifically outlined, different reconstructions have proposed that the game may be won in different manners. For example, after one player has traversed the board completely with all of his remaining counters, the players then total their respective counters that have completely traversed the board and the number of opposing counters they have captured. The player with the higher total is then the winner.

When playing with four, North and West are partners against South and East. Each team has one Priest of the Bow (not two).

Sources

1. Culin, Stewart. Games of the North American Indians. New York : Dover, 1975. ISBN 9780486231259

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awithlaknakwe

3. Murray, H.J.R. A History of Board Games other than Chess. Oxford University Press, 1952.