Out Of The Box Publishing: SASHAY: Official Rules

This masquerade is the stage for a drama. Opposing powers each intend to reveal a secret that will destroy the other. But first a spy disguised as a dancer must carry it to safety across the dance floor; because, if caught in the dance, this same secret will become their own undoing.

Playing Equipment

1 board (Masquerade Hall)
1 Screen for secrecy during setup
2 Secret Tokens, 1 each (+spares provided)
20 pieces: Each player has 2 tall pieces ("Masters of the Masquerade") and 8 shorter pieces ("Dancers in Disguise")

(One of each player's Dancers will carry the Secret Token, and is then known as the "Spy".)

Object of the game

Use one of your Dancers (your "Spy") to carry a concealed token across the board without getting caught.

Piece Movement and Capture.

Before your first game, place a few pieces on the board to learn their movements:

There are two kinds of pieces: "Dancers in Disguise" (these include the Spy), and the "Masters of the Masquerade". They have different movements:

Dancers in Disguise

The Dancers "sashay" any distance in an unobstructed straight line, either along the board or across it. They cannot move diagonally, and they cannot land on or jump over another piece.

Examples:
A Dancer "sashays" any distance
along a straight open row or column.

The Spy moves like any other Dancer, but its goal is to reach last rank of the board.

Masters of the Masquerade

The Masters have three types of movement:

1) Masters "waltz" any distance along any diagonal, always staying on the same color. As they waltz, they may zigzag as much as they like. However, they can never pass across a space occupied by another piece.

2) Masters may "glide" to an adjacent space of the opposite color. That is, one space either to the front, the back or the side.

3) Masters "pirouette" as they trade places with a Dancer on any adjacent space, either diagonally, to the side, in front or in back. Masters cannot, however, pirouette to trade places with other Masters. The Dancer partner may belong to either player, thus it is not allowed to turn the Dancer around or to inspect it by touch.

You may only use one kind of movement on a single turn.

Examples: A Master can "Waltz" along any open diagonals.		A Master can "Pirouette" to trade places with a Dancer.


A Master can "Glide" one space.

Capturing

Capture is by surrounding. When there is no open space to which a piece may move, it is captured and removed. The piece itself and the surrounding pieces may belong to either player. -- So, be careful not to accidentally trap or capture your own pieces!

More than one piece can be captured by the same move. All captured pieces are removed simultaneously immediately after the move that surrounded them.

The Master's ability to pirouette does not exempt it from capture; to survive, it too must have an adjacent open space. However, a Master can capture a Dancer by pirouetting the Dancer into a position that was safe for the Master, but not for the Dancer.

In the center of the board it takes four pieces to capture a Dancer, or eight to capture a Master. At the edges and corners it takes less.

Capture Examples:

Black to Move:
1. If the black Dancer "sashays" as shown, he will surround and capture a white Master and the white Dancer next to the Master. Such a capture is not likely to occur in a normal game.

2. If the black Master "pirouettes" to trade places with any of the neighboring Dancers, that Dancer will be surrounded and thus captured. -- And if the Dancer chosen happens to be the Spy, then Black wins the game.

White to Move:

1. If the white Dancer "sashays" as shown, he will capture the black Master at the side of the board. However he will lose two of his own Dancers, as well. -- And, because his Spy is one of the Dancers that he would lose, this move is suicide.

2. If the nearly surrounded white Master "pirouettes" to trade places with any of the neighboring Dancers, that Dancer will be surrounded and thus captured.

Setup and Play

Decide who will move first. Each player selects a set of pieces, and one Secret token. The spare tokens are kept in view at the side of the board.

Insert the masquerade screen into the board. Position the board between you so that the screen blocks your opponent's view of your end of the board, allowing you to set up your side of the board in secret.

Insert the secret token into one of your Dancer pieces to create a Spy.

Place your pieces in the 3 rows closest to your end. Each piece must have an open space to which to move, and you should avoid placing pieces where they can be surrounded and captured by a single move. Also you should avoid leaving any columns open, because your opponent might win suddenly on the first move.

Make a final check that your opponent will not be able to see which Dancer has the Secret token. When you and your opponent are both ready, remove the screen, and place it to the side of the board.

Examples to show
a variety of the
opening positions
that are possible.

Consider each other's positions. Then, if you are the one to go first, start by moving one of your pieces, using one of the piece movements already described. Take care not to accidentally reveal your Spy.

When you have finished, your opponent moves. You and your opponent continue playing in alternation, until the game ends in a win or a draw.

Strategy

It is advisable to capture as many your opponent's pieces as possible. The fewer pieces he has, the harder it is for him to block every column, to defend his own pieces, or to attack yours. Thus, the easier it will be for your own spy to reach the last rank of the board and win.

Avoid leaving your columns open unnecessarily - especially during set up and early in the game, when you cannot yet guess which of your opponent's pieces is the spy. This prevents your opponent's spy from suddenly taking advantage of an open column to win.

Winning

There are two ways to win: Either (1) move your Spy to the last rank of the board across from you; or (2) capture your opponent's Spy before it reaches its last rank on your side.

Resolving Repetitions of Play

A repetition of play occurs when a player, brings the board back to the same position as it was in at the end of one of his own earlier turns.

Whenever a player creates a repetition, he may, if he wishes, request a draw. The other player must either accept the draw, or else decline by moving in a way that is not a repetition of play. If, the first player did not offer a draw, then the second player has the option of continuing the repetition and requesting a draw himself.

A repetition will normally occur within a few moves of the original position, so there is no need to keep a special record of the game.

Enjoy your game!