Splinter Quad

Splinter Quad is an abstract strategy game designed by Ed Nadel for four players, ages 8 and up.  Average playing time is 10 to 15 minutes.

Eliminate your opponents’ pieces by sliding, pushing and fracturing the battlefield.  The last player with at least one square, one circle and one cross on the board wins the game.

Playing the Game

Each player starts the game with 9 pieces, grouped into 3 different shapes – 2 squares, 2 crosses and 5 circles.  Play begins with the pieces arranged in a checkerboard pattern at the center of the board, as illustrated below.

Assign a color to each player and decide who goes first.  Then continue playing, with all players alternating turns.  On your turn, you may slide any of your pieces one square in any direction (orthogonally or diagonally), pushing along any pieces that lie in the way.

Note:  All pieces move in exactly the same way regardless of type, but each type of piece has a unique scarcity value, which will vary throughout the game as pieces are removed from the board.

Removing Pieces from the Board

If a piece is pushed off the edge, it is removed from the board.  

In addition, if the pieces are splintered into two or more disconnected groups (so that no piece of either group shares a side or a corner with any piece of the other group), the largest group remains on the board and all other groups are removed.  

In the below position, when the green cross moves up, the three circles at the bottom are splintered from the main group and removed from the board.

If a splinter results in two groups of equal size, the player who caused the splinter decides which group is removed.

Winning the Game

To remain in the game, a player must have at least one square, one cross and one circle on the board.  If a player ceases to satisfy this condition, that player is eliminated from the game, and that player’s pieces are removed from the board.  The last player with at lease on square, one cross and one circle on the board wins the game.  

Note:  A single move may cause all remaining players to fail the survival condition at the same time.  If this happens, the game ends and the player with the most pieces remaining on the board is the winner.  If multiple players have the same number of pieces remaining, the game ends in a tie.