Picaria is a two-player

abstract strategy game 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. ...

from the Zuni

Native American Indians Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...

or the

Pueblo Indians The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zun ...

of the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

. It is related to

tic-tac-toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian or Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who take turns marking the spaces in a three-by-three grid with ''X'' or ''O''. T ...

, but more related to

three men's morris Three men's morris is an abstract strategy game played on a three by three board (counting lines) that is similar to tic-tac-toe. It is also related to six men's morris and nine men's morris. A player wins by forming a mill, that is, three of thei ...

Nine Holes Nine Holes is a two-player abstract strategy game from different parts of the world and is centuries old. It was very popular in England. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to three men's morris, Achi, Tant Fant, Shisima, Pic ...

, Achi,

Tant Fant Tant Fant is a two-player abstract strategy game from India. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but more closely related to three men's morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It ...

, and

Shisima Shisima is a two-player abstract strategy game from Kenya. It is related to tic-tac-toe, and even more so to three men's morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3-in-a-row. Unlike tho ...

, because pieces can be moved to create the three-in-a-row. Picaria is an alignment game. There are two variations to Picaria. The first version is simpler with 9 spaces or intersection points, and the second version uses 13 spaces or intersection points. The rules are the same.

Goal

To create a three-in-a-row of one's pieces either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Equipment

A 3×3 board is used for the first version. Three horizontal lines form the three rows. Three vertical lines form the three columns. Two diagonal lines connect the two opposite corners of the board. Additionally, there are four more diagonal lines connecting the midpoints. These four additional diagonal lines is what makes the Picaria board different from

Tapatan Three men's morris is an abstract strategy game played on a three by three board (counting lines) that is similar to tic-tac-toe. It is also related to six men's morris and nine men's morris. A player wins by forming a mill, that is, three of thei ...

or Achi. The intersection points are where the pieces are played. The second version uses a similar board except there are four additional spaces or intersection points to play pieces at. The four additional spaces or intersection points are at the intersection of the four additional diagonal lines with those of the larger diagonal lines. Each player has three pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects will suffice.

Rules and gameplay

# The board is empty in the beginning. # Players decide what colors to play, and who will start first. # Drop phase: Players alternate turns dropping one of their pieces onto the vacant spaces on the board. The center space (central intersection point) cannot be used until after each player drops their first piece (a variant is the center space cannot be used after all pieces are dropped). Pieces cannot move until all three pieces from each player have been dropped. # Move phase: Each piece can now move any direction one space at a time following the pattern on the board. Pieces cannot be jumped or captured. Only one piece can be moved per turn. # Players can create the three-in-a-row at either the drop phase or move phase and win the game.

House rules

These are rules that you and the other player can agree upon. They are not standard for the game. * A stalemate where one player cannot make a move is cause for a draw of the game, or a loss to that player. * Repeating a position three times can be cause for a draw.

References

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External links