Ludus Latrunculorum

How to play

"The game of little soldiers" — the war game of the Roman legions. Your soldiers slide like rooks; trap an enemy between two of yours to capture it. Each army has a leader, the dux, who can also leap over an adjacent piece.

Rules

  • You move first. Tap one of your (red) pieces, then a highlighted square to slide it there along a rank or file.
  • Trap an enemy piece between two of your own to capture it — a piece that moves into the gap between two enemies is safe.
  • Your dux (marked with a gold ring) may also leap over an adjacent piece into the empty square beyond, in addition to sliding.
  • Capture the enemy dux, or leave the enemy with no legal move, to win — but guard your own leader well.

Tips

Never advance your dux into an open file where two enemy soldiers can converge and flank it. Push soldiers forward in supporting pairs so that any capture the enemy makes can be answered by a capture of your own.