RULES

Overview:

Pieces are positioned at the intersection of the lines. Directions of valid movement between these points are connected by lines. The game play takes place in two phases. In the first phase, the goats are placed on the board while the tigers are moved. In the second phase, both the goats and the tigers are moved. For the tigers, the objective is to "capture" five goats to win, by jumping over the goats. The goats win by blocking all the tigers' legal moves.

Rules:

Single-elimination versus double-elimination tournament will be at discretion of Commissioners. Coin flip to determine tigers or goats (younger flips, elder calls).

At the start of the game, all four tigers are placed on the four corners of the grid, facing the center. No goats are placed on the board during the initial setup.

The player controlling the goats moves first, by placing a goat onto a free intersection on the board. The player controlling the tigers moves next and may move a tiger along the lines from one intersection to another. Moves alternate between players. The goats enter the board one per turn. Once all 20 of the goats have been placed on the board, goats must move in the same fashion as the tigers, one intersection to another.

Tigers capture goats by jumping over them to an adjacent free position (as in checkers, although capturing is not obligatory in bagh-chal).

They can move to an adjacent free position along the lines.

They can capture goats during any move, and do not need to wait until all goats are placed.

They can capture only one goat at a time.

They can jump over a goat in any direction, as long as there is an open space for the tiger to complete its turn.

A tiger cannot jump over another tiger.

Goats cannot move until all goats have been positioned on the board.

They must leave the board when “captured.”

They cannot jump over tigers or other goats.

The game is over when either the tigers capture five goats, or the goats have blocked the tigers from being able to move.

Sometimes the game can fall into a repetitive cycle of positions. Goats especially may use this resort to defend themselves against being captured. To avoid this situation, an additional rule has been established: When all the goats have been placed, no move may return the board to a situation that has already occurred during the game.