Palago

''Palago'' is a creative art puzzle/game designed by Cameron Browne. A ''Palago'' set contains 48 identical regular hexagonal tiles which can be used for a series of puzzles, a strategic two-player game and a co-operative multi-player game called ''Palagonia'' which was co-designed with Mike McManaway, the inventor of Tantrix.

History

Cameron Browne, an Australian mathematician and author of two books on game theory, created the tile design and the two player version (originally called ''Mambo'') in 2007. The hexagonal tiles of ''Mambo'' are double-sided, with each side having three colors: red, white, and blue. One side is described as blue-dominant, and has a blue bridge-shaped region and a red wedge-shaped region. The other side is described as red-dominant, and has the opposite pattern. The patterns are formed by considering the borders of regions formed by paths linking two sides each: one pair of opposite sides are linked by a straight line, and the other four sides are linked by a circular arc linking adjacent sides. This is the same side-linking arrangement as a serpentile (Van Ness notation ''102''), one of the hexagonal edge-matching puzzle tiles used in games such as ''Psyche-paths'', ''Kaliko'', and ''Tantrix''.

The tiles were simplified to two colors and the name was changed to ''Lite Mambo'' or ''Lambo'', then ''Palago'', due to the resemblance of the tiles to the island of Palau and some strategic similarities to the game of ''Go''. Browne proposed the concept of "Palagonia" to describe the many possible creature-like shapes that can be made with the tiles, several of which have been rendered as "Palagonian Puzzle Creatures" by Franco Giuliani, an Argentinian artist. The multiplayer version - also called ''Palagonia'' - was designed by McManaway and Browne in 2009, and uses all 48 tiles plus two specially designed "Palago" dice.

Gameplay

Mambo

By examination, each hexagonal ''Mambo'' tile has three colored corners and three white corners, with each colored corner separated by a white corner; the red-dominant side has two red and one blue corners, while the blue-dominant side has two blue and one red corners.

Gameplay in ''Mambo'' is similar to the connection games ''Trax'' and the '' Black Path Game'': players take turns placing a single tile per turn; each new tile must be placed adjacent to an existing tile and must continue the colors across the adjacent tile edges. Players are not restricted to playing tiles in their dominant color (i.e., the Blue player can play either the blue-dominant side or the red-dominant side in any legal orientation). Like ''Trax'', ''Mambo'' has a forced-move rule: a space bordered by three tiles prescribes the colors of each corner precisely. When such a space bordered by three adjacent tiles has prescribed a mix of colors (blue and red), a tile is played to automatically fill the space; this ''auto-move'' is not considered part of a player's turn. On the other hand, if the space has three corners prescribed to be the same color by the adjacent tiles, it is not possible to play a tile there and the space is considered a ''null point''. Note that when two corners are specified to be the same color, there is only one possible tile that can be played in this ''known point''.

File:Mambo (known).svg, With two of the same color corners specified in the empty space bordered by three adjacent tiles, this ''known point'' can only have one red-dominant tile/orientation as a legal play. However, since there is no requirement to play into this space, it is not an ''auto-move''.
File:Mambo (null).svg, With three of the same color corners specified in the empty space bordered by four adjacent tiles, this ''null point'' has no legal move and is marked-out with an X.
File:Mambo (auto).svg, With three of the corners specified with a mix of colors, this ''auto-move'' requires a specific red-dominant tile to be played.
File:Mambo (auto2).svg, The ''auto-move'' has been applied with the only legal tile placement.

The objective of ''Mambo'' is to "kill" the opponent's group(s) by preventing further growth, either by closing off the opponent's group or by blocking it with a ''null point''.

File:Mambo (blue-blocked).svg, Winning condition for Red, blocking the Blue groups with a ''null point''
File:Mambo (red-closed).svg, Winning condition for Blue, closing the Red group.

In some cases, the territory score is computed instead. The territory enclosed by a ''loop'' is scored according to the number of junctions within it, where three corners meet and have the same color.

Palago

Both ''Palago'' and ''Palagonia'' can be played on any flat surface. To start ''Palago'', each player chooses a colour and then draws a tile out of the bag to see who goes first (though having no significance in play, half the tiles have the colour of one player on the back and half have the colour of the other player).

The first player places two tiles in the middle with both colours matching. Play continues with each player always placing two tiles per turn, and obeying the basic rules.

Basic Rules:
# At least one of the two tiles must connect to the palago (the tiles already played).
# The two tiles being played must touch each other.
# All touching edge colours must match.

To win:
* The first player with a closed creature using more than three tiles of their colour is the winner.
* The creature must be closed on the inside too.
* Only one tile needs to be played, if that tile results in a win for either player.
* A player loses if they close creatures of both colours on the same move.

''Palago'' can be played with any number of tiles. The game is drawn if the tiles run out before either player wins, (although with 48 tiles this is unlikely).

''Palago'' is balanced between attacking and defending strategies. In fact, early in the game it can be wiser to defend without counter-attacking. This is because a player's overall position deteriorates with each attack while defending often seems to improve it. Then, when the timing is right, players should go on the attack and try to convert their superior position into a win.

Palagonia

All players each roll one die to begin. ''Palagonia'' uses a single custom six-sided die; the 2, 3, 4, and 5 are standard and action symbols take the place of the 1 and the 6. The player with the highest actual number (2, 3, 4, or 5) starts the game by taking exactly that number of tiles and connecting them together in any way (with colours matching). If nobody rolls a number, then all players roll again. Play then continues in a clockwise direction.

Alternatively, a regular six-sided die can be used. A turn consists of the player rolling the die and following the required action:
* If a 1 is rolled, the action is ''remove an exterior tile'', i.e., a tile with at least one free adjacent edge
* If a 6 is rolled, the action is ''rotate an interior tile'', i.e., a tile that is completely surrounded by other tiles
* If any other number is rolled, the action is to ''add that number of tiles''; all added tiles must touch each other

Rules when playing with two dice:
# Roll both dice and choose one to obey.
# If a player rolls doubles they get an extra turn.
# When one die action cannot be carried out, the other must be followed. If neither die action is possible, the player must remove an external tile.
# When closing a creature, all tiles-to-be-played must form part of that creature or it does not score.

;Objective

Players score points by forming creatures. Larger ones are usually worth more, depending on their shape. The best way to close a high scoring creature is to team up with one of your neighbours (either the player just before you or just after you), because points are usually given to both players who contribute. The game ends when all the tiles have been used.

Additional information

''Palago'' was officially launched at the 2010 Nuremberg International Toy and Game Fair and is currently available in these countries: New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Taiwan, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Russia and Greece. It was chosen as one of the fair's top ten iconic images.

In September 2010, ''Palago'' won the New Zealand 'New Game of the Year' award.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Palago website

Nelson Mail review
(NZ)

Board Game Geek review
(online)

Palago player rankings
(online)


(CAN)

Board games introduced in 2008
Abstract strategy games
Tile-based board games
Tabletop games