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About HexDame
Invented in the early eighties, Hexdame's way to counteract draws has a special appeal because
HexDame has exactly the same rules as Draughts.
Yet it differs considerably in the consequences. The most obvious differences between the games are:
- The men-space ratio: in HexDame nearly half the board is vacant in the initial
position, allowing for more maneuvering space in the opening.
- The number of directions: a man has three forward moves. A cell that is straight
ahead can be reached with one move straight forward, but also with two oblique moves. Thus HexDame,
unlike Draughts, allows for differences in development that are not the result of captures.
Kings look in six directions.
- The absence of one on one opposition: a single man cannot block an opponent's single man.
- The possibility to progress along the side columns, without 'entering the field'.
- Three kings always win against a lone king. Barring reflections and rotations,
there are 16 regular positions in which only
two kings win against one! Admittedly we now have
,
where we're back on the square board and a king and one man are enough to win against a lone king
HexDame, though structurally identical to International Draughts and very similar in its tactics,
is quite a different game in strategical respect.
HexDame is featured in R. Wayne Schmittberger's New Rules for Classic Games
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York - ISBN 0-471-53621-0).
HexDame ©
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Java Applet by
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