Batalo
Alternate Names
Batalo is a word from the Esperanto language meaning a battle, fight, combat, or struggle.
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
A Batalo board, six each of black and white (shown in red here) counters, here called stones; and one each of taller black and white counters, called columns and here shown as squares. Notice that the Batalo board has two hexagons which are colored to distinguish them. These are called the bases.
History
Batalo was published in 1993 by Scott Harmon and Harmony Games, Inc.
Objective
To win a game of Batalo, a player must get any of their own counters onto their opponent’s base or capture all of their opponent’s counters.
Play
Stones and columns are placed as above. White (red) moves first. Alternate turns entail a movement of a single piece one space in any direction or a jump over a single counter of the same color in a straight line to an immediately opposite vacant cell. There are no jumps over enemy counters. Jumps may be multiple in one turn, changing direction after each jump so long as a different counter is jumped each time. All of the above mentioned moves apply to both stones and columns. Columns are also entitled to the following moves: A column may move along an unimpeded straight line in any direction to the edge of the board or until it is blocked by another piece. Only a column may occupy or slide through your base.
In addition to the extra moving powers entitled to it, the column is the only piece which may capture opposing pieces (column or stones). It captures by replacement. The column, however, may not be captured while it is on its base.
Strategy
Variations
Sources
Batalo at BoardGameGeek. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6575/batalo