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  Emergo Rules: Entering & Moving 

• Entering is only allowed on vacant squares. If the player to move cannot make a capture, then entering a man has precedence over moving a piece He may not enter more than one man, unless his opponent has all twelve men on the board, in which case he must enter his remaining men as one piece. This piece is called 'the shadowpiece'

A player may still have several men in hand while his opponent has all men on the board. This is always the result of one player entering while the other must capture. It is not at all unusual: creating a large shadowpiece is a very valid strategic goal, particularly for black.

White may not, on his very first move, enter on the central square (e5). Apart from that there's only one condition for entering a man or the shadowpiece alike:

• Entering may not force an opponent into making a capture, unless the entering player is already being attacked by his opponent!

This is the key rule governing the entering phase. As long as my opponent does not attack any of my pieces, I may not force him to make a capture. Only he himself can release me from that condition, by attacking one of my pieces.

In the example below black on his seventh move takes a risk by attacking white. In the already crowded position, white takes over the attack. On his tenth move black has a shadowpiece of two and no restrictions on entering (since he now is under attack himself). Now 10 ...g6, forcing white to the majority capture 11. h6d4x appears to be black's best option, but after the position to rest, black's piece of two and shadowpiece of two are outweighed by white's piece of four, especially as an instrument to liberate the three prisoners. Admittedly white's weak piece appears to be more isolated and thus more vulnerable than black's, but as a whole the position is favorable for white.

This example shows how explosive the entering stage in a game of Emergo can be if players attack! In      you can read why it is usually black who attacks.

Movement
If the player to move cannot make a capture and does not have any men in hand, he must move a piece to an adjacent square. There are no restrictions except that the square must be vacant.

Draws
The following situations constitute a draw:

• A player has at least one piece left, and cannot move.
• 3-fold repetition of the same position with the same player to move.
• Mutual agreement.

The second situation has implications in some endgames with very few pieces.
A draw by mutual agreement may occur in endgames that are mutually without perspective. Put two white and two black 3-under-3 pieces in opposite corners and it may be hard to get anywhere.
These were the rules. Now you know how to play Emergo ... almost.