How to Play Lines of Action
Lines of Action (LOA) is a brilliant connection game invented by Claude Soucie in 1969. The goal is elegant: connect all your pieces into a single contiguous group. The twist? Pieces move exactly as many squares as there are pieces (of both colors) on their line of movement. This creates a dynamic, ever-changing puzzle.
Objective
Connect all of your pieces into a single orthogonally or diagonally connected group. The first player to achieve this wins. If you reduce your opponent to a single piece (which is technically 'connected'), you lose!
Setup
The game uses an 8×8 board. Black places 6 pieces on each of the top and bottom rows (columns b-g). White places 6 pieces on each of the left and right columns (rows 2-7). This creates a symmetrical starting position with 12 pieces per player.
Gameplay
On your turn, move one piece horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The key rule: a piece must move exactly as many squares as the total number of pieces (yours and opponent's) along its line of movement. Pieces can jump over friendly pieces but not enemy pieces. You can capture by landing on an enemy piece.
Winning
Win by connecting all your remaining pieces into one group (pieces touching orthogonally or diagonally). If you capture pieces and reduce yourself to one piece, you lose. If both players connect simultaneously (rare), the moving player wins.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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