Ordo initial positionOrdo is a very 'organic' game with an original way of movement and capture, invented by Dieter Stein in 2009. The inventor proceeded with a faster but not necessarily better version called Ordo-X. Draws are impossible in both versions.

Play Ordo interactively or against the AI

Rules
The diagram shows the board with the pieces in the initial position. There are two players, White and Black. Each player has twenty men in his color.

Object
The object of Ordo game is to reach the opposite row with one of the player's men. A player can also win a game by capturing all opponent's men or by breaking the group of opponent's men in such a way that the opponent is unable to reconnect his group on his next move. White moves first, after which players alternate moves.

During the game, after a player's move, all pieces of that player must be connected (orthogonally or diagonally ) in one single group. If the group of player's men is disconnected as a result of capture move made by the opponent, the player must make such a move that reconnects his group again. If no such move is possible, the player loses the game!
There are two kinds of moves: single checker moves and ordo moves.

  • A single man can move straight forward, diagonally forward or sideways in a straight line any number of empty squares. It may end the move in an empty square or a square occupied by an opponent's man, which is then captured and removed from the board. The only case when a single man can move backward or diagonally backward is when the group of player's checkers is disconnected and he needs to reconnect it. Below is an example of all possible moves that can be made by the highlighted man:

    Ordo moves

  • The ordo move: 2 or more men that are connected in a straight horizontal or vertical line (an ordo), can move side by side any number of empty squares They may only move orthogonally (not diagonally) forward (if they are horizontally aligned) or sideways (if they are vertically aligned). They may not capture. The only case when an ordo can move backward is when the group of player's men is disconnected and he needs to reconnect. The diagram shows two examples of possible ordo moves (there are many other possible ordo moves possible in the diagram):

    Ordo moves


External links
Ordo © Dieter Stein