The humble 8X8 checkerboard, which exists in almost every home, just happens to be an extremely versatile item in terms of offering games to play.
While most end up with such a board having purchased a checker set, or a chess set, that is really only scratching the surface in terms of what games the board can be used to play.
Some, such as the fantastic Lines Of Action require only the board, and some of the checkers which come with a basic checker set (12 of each colour in this case).
Other games will require a bit of collecting of pieces. That can mean buying a second checker set which closely matches what you already have to facilitate a great game such as Dameo.
You will need those extra pieces for this week’s game. In fact you will need 29 stackable pieces in two colours. That is the one drawback to Tumbling Down. Since a basic checker set has only 12 pieces of each colour, you need three sets, or you have to find alternate pieces to use for this one.
The extra effort is worth it though.
Tumbling Down was actually an entry in an 8X8 game design competition back in 2001, from designer Michael Shuck.
Like the recently reviewed Generatorb game, this one is played with the board set between the two players as a diamond, two opposing points controlled by the players.
The corner square has a stack of four pieces, with the next two forward squares having stacks of three, then seven stacks of two, and final a row of five single pieces.
At www.Boardspace.net they offer an alternate starting array, which facilitates the board being orientated as a regular checkerboard between the players. You can find the set-up here. I have not done nearly enough research into this game to comment which set up is best.
The object of the game is to capture your opponent’s “King” (tallest stack of disks of a single colour) before they can capture your King. If your opponent has more than one “King”, you can capture any of your opponent’s Kings.
A player may only move disks of their colour. Thus, only the black player may move a black disk (whether it is alone on a square or the top disk on a stack). Conversely, only the red player may move red disks.
A disk may be moved in any direction including diagonal.
Disks that are covered (not on the top of a stack or alone), can only be moved via ‘tumbling’.
As you might gather from the game’s name, tumbling is the key mechanic here.
A player may “tumble” a stack of disks when their disk is on the top of the stack. Thus, the red player may tumble stacks of disks that have a red disk on top (regardless of the colours of disks in the stack). The same holds true for the black player.
A stack of disks can be “tumbled” in any direction. When a stack of disks is “tumbled,” the whole stack of disks is “pushed over”, with one disk landing in each progressive square.
Start by moving the whole stack one space in any direction (including diagonal). Then, leave the bottom disk (one disk) in the new space and move the remaining disks one more space in the same direction. Continue moving the stack in this fashion until there is only one disk remaining and the tumble is complete. Note that a “tumbling” stack of disks cannot change direction mid-tumble and must continue tumbling in the same direction.
A “tumbling” stack of disks will halt its movement at the edge of the game board. This will result in a small stack of disks remaining in a square on the edge of the game board.
Similar to the game of Chess, when a player’s move or “tumble” puts the opposing King in danger of being captured, the player must say “check” to alert the opponent.
A King is captured when it is covered by an opposing player’s disk or disks. A King must be comprised of the tallest stack of disks in a single colour. Any tall stacks of disks comprised of disks in both colours are excluded and cannot be Kings. Remember if you ever end up without a stack of your own colour (one would count), you lose.
This is a game which doesn’t necessarily come naturally in terms of movement as it is quite unique. In the beginning there is a feeling of randomness which might turn some players off, but if they give it enough time that they start to see the strategy of blocking attacks by topping stacks, and in the process potentially creating a threat themselves, the game starts to win fans.
Give it a try abstract strategy fans.
