Ploy

Alternate Names

Imperium

No. of Players

Two or Four

Equipment

A Ploy board and the 30 specially marked counters are required for play. Ploy may also be played on a 8x8 square grid with the counters played at the intersections (giving a 9x9 field of play). The counters all have special markings which dictate the direction and distance of their movement. They are classified into four different varieties, but two of these varieties have further distinctions. Referring to the opening position shown in the board above, the three counters in a player's front row are called Shields and move one space at a time in the direction they are pointing. Those in the middle row are called Lances and move two spaces at a time in one of the directions their markings are pointing. Those in the final (closest) row, except for the one in the middle, move three spaces at a time, and are called Probes. The central piece moves one space at a time, and is called a Commander.

History

Ploy was originally a "Bookshelf Game" marketed by 3M and was later reissued as Imperium by Schmidtt Spiele.

Objective

Victory is granted by capturing the opponent's Commander, or capturing all of the opponent's counters except for the Commander.

Play

Alternate turns allow a player to move one counter the distance it is allowed, OR, a player may rotate a single friendly counter. Rotating a counter so that may move in different directions counts as a complete move except for the Shields, which may be first moved, and then rotated as a single move. Capture is by replacement. Is jumping over friendly and/or opposing counters allowed? Is a counter required to move the entirety of its distance?

Strategy

Variations

Sources

1. Ploy at wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ploy_(board_game)