YORKTON - With summer upon us we’ll be offering up two reviews for the months of July and August to celebrate the season.
This week we look at Jarmo, a game I was intrigued with from the first time I read about it.
“According to Polish legend, Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, carried this game with him during his military campaigns. They say he would play this game with his generals to sharpen their wits in preparation for battle. After Genghis Khan’s death in 1227, Batu Khan expanded the empire through Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and into eastern Europe,’ details the rules sheet from the www.newventuregames.com produced Jarmo game.
I find games that have just enough ancient history intrinsically intriguing in part because the game has even survived so long.
And then there is that connection to history when you play – imagine trying to find the same path to victory as a grandson of Genghis Khan did some eight centuries ago. (It makes me wonder if modern abstract strategy gems such as Hive and Yinsh and Tak will be played centuries into the future?)
“Each player receives 10 pegs. Five of these are called Kheshig (the Khan’s royal guards),” detail the rules.
“The game begins with five Archers on each player’s nearest row, and the Kheshig pegs are held in reserve off the board.”
You move according to the lines on a rather unusual board, and therein lies much of the interest here. Depending on the board orientation things are a little different, so re-orienting the board provides a different game experience. That is a rather interesting design element in a game so ancient. It creates a ‘thinky’ puzzle that changes with a board turn.
The game also includes a promotion of pieces with greater movement potential (like a King in Checkers) and when the game ends. Again there is depth in the promotion aspect of Jarmo.
When either player gets all of their surviving pieces into the enemy’s first row, the game is over. Now the scores are tallied as follows:
*Two points are awarded for each Archer or Kheshig that has reached the other player’s first row.
*One point is awarded for each additional peg a player has on the board at the end of the game.
The point system is neat too, as you need to be aware of just how you stand in comparison to the opponent, not just arriving at a specific spot.
Like most games from newventuregames.com the wooden components are very nice, and this one is very compact to make it perfect for coffee time exploration.
This is one that is highly recommended, so make sure to check it out.
