The phalanx was a military formation used by the ancient Greeks. The greatest triumphs in the use of this system were achieved by Alexander the Great.
The Hoplites were heavily armed infantrymen used throughout the phalanx.
The archers were experts with the bow. From either a walking or kneeling position they fired their arrows with great skill.
The auxiliaries were supplementary power. Often they were foreign troops assisting Alexander’s army.
The game of phalanx employs the names of the basic units used by Alexander, namely, the syntagma, the hoplites, the archers, and the auxiliaries.
How the phalanxmen capture
In the game of Phalanx, captures or Plalanxes are never made by jumping over the captured piece or by occupying the place of the piece at the time of its capture or Phalanx.A piece is said to be captured or Phalanxed when any 2 of its sides are completely bordered by any side of 2 or more of its opponent’s pieces. The word “Phalanx” is declared aloud by the player as he moves in the last piece required for the Phalanx. This enables the player who is about to lose a piece to see that a valid Phalanx has been made. Then the declarer of the Phalanx removes the Phalanxed piece from the board, leaving his own pieces where they were when he completed the Phalanx.
A “double”, “triple” or “quadruple” Phalanx is declared when an attacker completes 2, 3, or 4 Phalanxes in a single move of one of his pieces. The attacker so declares which of the multiple Phalanxes it is, and removes all the pieces thus Phalanxes in that one move.
Figuring to gain an ultimate advantage or in exchange of pieces, a player may Phalanx himself, that is, so move that at the conclusion of his move one or more of his own pieces is already Phalanxed without his opponent having had to move any pieces. In this case, since no movement of a piece would be necessary, the opponent simply declares “simple, double, etc, Phalanx”, removes the piece(s) in question, thus completing his turn.
A piece Phalanxed must always be removed from the board when the Phalanxing occurs. If a Phalanx has been inadvertently overlooked, it must be declared at the next turn of the one whose pieces form that Phalanx.
A move may be made in either of two ways:
- The moving of a piece, regardless of whether this terminates in a Phalanx or not;
- The removal of a piece or of pieces Phalanxed when no moving of a piece was necessary as happens in the case of the opponent of one who Phalanxes himself, and in the case of the Phalanx inadvertently not declared.
Tied or drawn games
The winner of a tied or drawn game is determined by the player who has the highest total of points for his pieces yet remaining on the board. Points are assigned according to this scale:- Syntagma 20 points
- Hoplites 15 points each
- Archers 10 points each
- Auxillaries 5 points each
Shorter or time-limit game
This game is played for the length of time the players agree on. If at the end of the time determined neither player has won according to the regular rules, the winner is determined by the point system indicates above. All other regular rules apply.The Phalanxboard and opening position of pieces.
Phalanx is played on a board composed of 128 isosceles triangles. There are 30 pieces or Phalanxmen.Each player has 15 pieces. The player of the White pieces is known as White, the player of the Red pieces is known as Red. Players move alternately. Neither player can ever make two consecutives moves. White always moves first. The opening position of the pieces:
How the phalanxmen move
From a stationary position, a piece may be moved along a straight path in the direction of any of its sides or angles, that is, horizontal, vertically, or diagonally forward or backward, along as many spaces as desired provided no piece blocks its route and that it comes to rest on a configuration or design on the board whose lines match its own outline or design.
