''Hijara'' is a two-player

abstract strategy Abstract strategy games admit a number of definitions which distinguish these from strategy games in general, mostly involving no or minimal narrative theme, outcomes determined only by player choice (with no randomness), and perfect information. ...

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

played with small stones. It has been likened to a

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

game on a

two-dimensional In mathematics, a plane is a Euclidean (flat), two-dimensional surface that extends indefinitely. A plane is the two-dimensional analogue of a point (zero dimensions), a line (one dimension) and three-dimensional space. Planes can arise as s ...

board. The game was designed by Martin H. Samuel and first printed, as ''Excel'', by

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in their

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, ''

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'', on December 24, 1985 and July 22, 1986. It has been sold commercially as ''Eclipse'' in 1994,Games Above Board: Hijara
/ref> and ''Hijara'' (the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

word for small stones) in 1995, 2003 and 2006. ''Hijara II'' is a 50-page

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travel version played with a blue and a yellow pen.

Components

* Numbered game board * 35 yellow sun and 35 blue moon small glass stones (extra stones are provided for each player) *

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pouch *

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Objective

The goal of the game is, to score the most points by placing your small stones on the board - building and/or blocking point-scoring combinations.

Gameplay

The original commercial edition of Hijara has a game board of 16 squares, divided into 4 sections numbered 1 through 4 and a score-keeping "

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" on either end. Players choose either yellow or blue and use 32 same-color stones plus one score-keeper each. Blue starts and players take turns placing their stones, one at a time, on any square, building on those already on the board, to complete and block point-scoring combinations. When a player places a stone on a square, it must be placed in the lowest-numbered open section in that square. So, for every square, the first small stone must be placed on the 1, second on the 2, etc. The game starts with an empty board, and ends with a full board with 3 ways to score points when placement of four same-color stones is completed in any of the following combinations: *''10 points'' - 4 stones of the same color on 4 numbers of a kind in a row - horizontally, vertically, or

diagonal In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek δ ...

ly. *''15 points'' - 4 stones of the same color in numerical sequence (i.e. 1-2-3-4) - horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. *''20 points'' - 4 stones of the same color in one square. Points are won with a player's own-color stones and are always accrued, never deducted. Several point-scoring combinations may be completed at one time with a single stone. Overlooked points are forfeited and, throughout the game, players keep score on their side of the board with an extra stone of their color. The game is over when the last small stone is placed and all the numbers are covered then, by comparing accrued points totals, the player with the greater number of points is the winner of the game.

Awards

* Games Magazine 1995 Buyers Guide To Games - USA * Games Magazine 1996 Top 100 - USA * Spiel Gut 2006 Recommendation - Germany

References

BoardGameGeek
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External links