High Jump
One of many possible opening positions for High Jump
Alternate Names
Similar games are called Siga (from Egypt), Koruböddo (High Leap, Issaq Tribe of Somalia), Lorkaböd (Jump Over, Darod tribe of Somalia), Natt klab ash-shawk (Palestine), and Choko (Mandinka and Fula Tribes of the Gambia valley). Helga from the Libyan Desert is also possibly the same game as Choko. Ufuba Wa Hulana is a similar or identical game played in Anjouan, Comoros Islands, Africa. Siga has another version in which captures are made by custodianship and to distinguish the version talked of here is sometimes called Jump Siga or Block Siga. The rules for all of these games vary only slightly, mostly concerning the initial placement of the counters (see Variations below).
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
A 5x5 square grid and twelve each of black and white counters are required for play, as above. In Africa the “boards” often consist of holes in the ground and the counters are often made of dried camel dung. If you don’t happen to have a camel handy, you can simply use coins or other implements for counters (suggested).
History
The game and all of its variants are African in origin. They may represent an origin for the game of Checkers and possibly even of Alquerque.
Objective
The goal is to capture all of the opponent’s counters, the first player to achieve this being the winner. A player may also win by blocking any legal move by his opponent. If it is agreed that a draw seems imminent, the player with more counters may declare victory.
Play
See Variations below to determine how to put the counters on the board. Any alternative will work fine as long as both players are in agreement prior to commencing the game. Alternate turns between players entail an orthogonal move (no diagonal moves) to any vacant neighboring square or an orthogonal short jump over an opponent’s counter(s). Counters are captured by being jumped over and are then removed from the board. Double or multiple captures in one move are permitted (except in Choko, see Variations below) and direction may be changed after each enemy counter has been jumped. Capturing is not compulsory.
Variations
In most modern variations, counters are placed on all the squares except the middle one, as above, before play begins. In the game of Siga from Egypt (as well as Koruböddo and Lorkaböd), however, players alternate placing their twelve counters two at a time until all cells except the central one are filled. The game of Choko from the Gambia Valley of West Africa is the same, but the counters are entered one at a time. In Siga, Koruböddo, and Lorkaböd all counters are entered before any movement by the pieces takes place. In Koruböddo and Lorkaböd, the player who entered the last two counters begins the subsequent play, whereas in Siga, the first player to set counters is also the first to move one. Choko has the unique feature of allowing movement of counters prior to placing them all, but whenever one player enters a counter, his opponent must do the same. Choko also does not allow multiple captures by jump, but the player who captures one counter may then remove a second of his opponent’s from any place on the board of his choosing.
Sources
Pentagames. Compiled by Pentagram. 1990. Fireside, Simon & Schuster Inc. ISBN 0-671-72529-7.