Skift

A Game of Strategic Shifts and Control

Skift is an abstract strategy game for two players, ages 8 and up. Average playing time is 10 to 15 minutes.  

Outmaneuver your opponent by shifting your pieces and the board itself. Your objective: eliminate all of your opponent’s kings or pawns.

Setup

The game board consists of 9 square tiles, with each tile divided into 4 quadrants.

Game pieces include 2 kings (square pieces) and 6 pawns (circle pieces) per player.

Arrange the 9 tiles in a 3×3 grid to form the board, then place the pieces in a checkerboard pattern around the center, as illustrated below.

Gameplay

Assign a color to each player and randomly determine who goes first.  Then take turns with your opponent, performing one of three actions on each turn – a piece move, a tile move or a tile rotation. 

Piece Moves

Move any of your kings or pawns one quadrant orthogonally or diagonally in any direction, pushing along any pieces that lie in the way.

You may move (and push) pieces from one quadrant to another within a tile or across tiles.

Pieces pushed off the board are removed from the game.

In the illustration below, white starts the game by moving the circled king downward, pushing along the two pieces below it.

Following that move, the board position looks like this:

Tile Control

The player with the most kings on a tile controls it. If the count is tied, the player with the most total pieces on the tile controls it. If the count is still tied, neither player controls the tile.

In the illustration below, blue controls the tile on the left. Blue also controls the middle tile because it has more kings (though fewer total pieces) on that tile. The tile on the right is not controlled by either player.

Tile Moves

Move any tile that you control one tile-length orthogonally (but not diagonally) in any direction, pushing along any tiles that lie in the way. 

Any pieces that occupy a moved tile simply move along with it, retaining their positions on the tile as it is moved.

In this illustration, blue controls the circled tile, and decides to move that tile to the right.

Following that move, the board position looks like this:

Tile Rotations

Rotate any tile that you control 180 degrees. Any pieces that occupy a rotated tile simply move along with it, retaining their positions on the tile as it is rotated.

In this illustration, blue decides to rotate the circled tile to ward off an attack.

Following that move, the board position looks like this.

The No-Undo Rule

You may not undo your opponent’s last move. 

This means that: (a) if your opponent’s last move was a piece move, you may not move any piece back to the exact position it occupied immediately before that move, and (b) if your opponent’s last move was a tile move, you may not move any tile back to the exact position it occupied immediately before that move.

Note: You cannot undo a tile rotation because you must control a tile to rotate it. Therefore, if your opponent rotates a tile, you cannot rotate it back unless you gain control of that tile on a future turn.

The Landlocked Tile Rule

You may not move or rotate a tile that is surrounded by other tiles on all four orthogonal sides (north, south, east, and west).

In this illustration, white controls the circled tile, but cannot move or rotate that tile, as it is landlocked.

Tile Connectivity and Splintering

All tiles must remain connected, either orthogonally or diagonally, meaning that each tile must share at least one side or one corner with another tile.

If a player causes the tiles to splinter into two or more disconnected groups, the largest group of connected tiles remains; all other tiles are removed, along with any pieces occupying those tiles. In the case of a tie, the player who caused the splinter chooses which group remains.

In this illustration, if blue were to move the circled tile to the right, the bottom left tile would be splintered into a separate, smaller group from the rest of the tiles, and would therefore be removed from the board.

Suicide Moves

You may make a move that results in your own pieces (or controlled tiles) being removed from the board, even if no other pieces (or tiles) are captured. In other words, suicide moves are legal (and may be of strategic value in certain situations).

Winning the Game

You win the game if your opponent runs out of kings or pawns. However, if you run out of kings or pawns at the same time, the player with the most pieces remaining wins. In the case of a tie, the game ends in a draw.