Four Field Kono
Opening Position
Alternate Names
Nei-Pat-Kono, Gok (Denmark)
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
A 3x3 square grid and eight each of black and white counters are required for play.
History
This is a traditional Korean game. It is recoreded from the 19th century and allegedly dates back much further.
Objective
The goal is to capture and reduce the opponent's counters to one. With only one counter a player may no longer capture and thus loses the game.
Play
The game begins after each player has placed their eight counters on the sixteen intersections of the board, completely filling the board, as above. Alternate turns between players entail an orthogonal move along a line to any unoccupied neighboring intersection or capturing an opponent’s counter by jumping over a counter of the same color and landing directly on the opponent’s one. The captured counter is then replaced and removed from the board. Multiple captures are not allowed and captures are not compulsory.
Sources
Pentagames. Compiled by Pentagram. 1990. Fireside, Simon & Schuster Inc. ISBN 0-671-72529-7.
Bell, R.C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. Revised Edition. Oxford University Press, 1969. 0-486-23855-5