UNIVERSAL FORCES™


“UNIVERSAL FORCES™” is a board game that requires players to achieve a common objective. The game may be played with                two, three or four individual players or corresponding teams. The object of the game is to bring into play, playing pieces of                the four various forces, (mountain, wind, water and fire) under each player’s or team's control, and to successively move                those forces through to the center of the board and onto the safety of the home card. (This is the “Strength” reference guide                located at each corner on the board.) The game involves the balancing of offensive and defensive scenarios in an attempt to                control access to the board’s center sector. The unequally dominant power of the various forces leads to many interesting                and multifaceted strategic situations. Control of various areas of play, as well as the opponents forces, may become the                predominant focus for a winning player. This makes each play of the game, a unique experience and provides a multitude of                variety and challenges. Players who are proficient with the game in its simplest configuration can increase the degree of                difficulty by incorporating a multi-level playing surface found in the “masters edition”.



THE FORCES

Each player has a total of twelve (12) playing pieces, called forces, identified by a unique, individualized shape, representing the player or team and known as the “network”. These forces are further delineated by color (green, yellow, blue and red) into a power matrix based on their individual strengths. The four forces are Mountains, Wind, Water and Fire, and their respective strengths are
as follows:

      1)   MOUNTAINS are represented by green playing pieces, and symbolize the strength of land. Wind and water cannot move             mountains except over a long period of time through erosion. Hence, mountains are considered a stronger force than either             wind or water.
      2)   WIND represented by yellow playing pieces, is a force that can both eliminate and drive fire to greater fury. It also moves             water, as in rain and tidal waves, through the forces of hurricanes and tornadoes. Hence, wind has been designated as a             stronger force than either fire or water, but since it can only erode mountains over extremely long periods of time, it is             considered a weaker force than mountains.
      3)   WATER represented by blue playing pieces, has throughout time been the force to quell fire, however water can only erode             mountains over time and is driven to great destruction by wind. Thus in the force matrix, water is stronger than fire but weaker             than either mountains or wind.
      4)   FIRE as represented by the red playing pieces, is a force that can ravage the land and destroy mountains through the power of             volcanoes. However, fire is quelled when it hits the sea and is susceptible to wind. Thus, fire is stronger than mountains but weaker than either wind or water.

The power of the forces is circular in nature, with no particular force being dominant over all others. This inherent vulnerability and balancing of power, leads to many interesting and dependant strategic situations, wherein, the strength of a particular force is dependant on its position in relation to other playing pieces on the board.

THE BOARD

There are two levels of play with “UNIVERSAL FORCES™”, basic and masters’ level. The layout of the game boards for both levels of play is identical. In the masters’ level of play, the inner two sectors of the game board may be raised resulting in further complications for players in achieving their objectives. This variant of the basic game is covered under the Masters’ Level Rules – Edition Two.

The basic game board is comprised of three concentric sectors. The outermost sector, of three (3) concentric rings with 32 sections per ring, is the largest and has sixteen (16) colored sections in its outside ring. These colored sections delineate the points upon which the respective playing pieces first enter the field of play. They are colored in accordance with the force they represent, and at no time, can a force of a different power enter or rest upon this space. The medial sector has three concentric rings with sixteen (16) sections per ring and no colored sections. The innermost sector is comprised of three (3) concentric rings with its center point of four (4) colored sections representing the four respective forces. Any force can occupy any of the colored sections in the innermost sector board. It is from these four sections, that the forces are then able to move off the board, to the home disks.





BEGINNING PLAY

Players may use any means to determine who will go first. The remaining players then proceed in turn, in a clockwise direction around the playing area. The first move for any player is to move one of their forces onto the board, by placing the chosen force on its appropriate colored section in the outside sector, during their turn. Once players have an initial force on the board, they can continue during their turn, to move that force one section at a time, or they can bring additional forces into play, depending on their chosen strategy. The forces of any player can only enter the playing area on its respective unoccupied colored section in the perimeter ring. If all these colored sections should be occupied, then the player cannot place a new force on the board at that time, and must move another of their forces, already in play, if possible. Failure to be able to move existing forces on the board or a new force onto the board, results in the players loss of turn. Forces entering the board cannot be stacked or pinned by an opponent while on the colored sections.

GENERAL MOVES

A move occurs, when a player enters a force onto the playing area of an unoccupied section, the same color as the force. After that, a force can move to any unoccupied adjoining section, touching the section (including diagonally on the corners) it presently rests on. Players move one force at a time and only one section at a time. A force cannot be moved off the playing area (unless eliminated by an opponent) once it has entered the playing surface. A force cannot be placed on, or move back onto, a colored section in the outer sector that is not the same color as the force. It requires one move, for a player to take a force located on its respective colored section at the center of the board and to move it to the respective section and safety, of the home location. If all the forces of a player cannot make a move, i.e. all forces are pinned and/or, no others can enter the board through the outer sector, and providing that not all other players are in a similar situation, then the player’s turn is skipped.

THE STACK

Stacking is a defensive manoeuver, which a player may use to protect a force. In this move, a player’s force that is on an adjoining section to another of the players forces, can in a move, be placed atop the adjoining force. The result is two of the player’s forces resting on the same section, with the upper force being the one, which an opponent’s force must initially overcome. The maximum number of forces in a stack is two (2) and stacked forces cannot be moved together. The force atop the stack must be moved off as one turn, before the bottom force can be moved. Stacking is not permitted on any of the sections making up the inner sector, nor is it permitted on the colored sections of the outer ring. It is possible, to have an opponent’s force overcome and eliminate both forces in a stack, in a single move. It is also possible, for an opponent’s force to overcome the top force in a stack, and at the same time, pin the bottom force, in the same move.



THE PIN

A pin occurs, when a player’s force, on an adjoining section to an opposing players force of the same strength, is moved atop the opponent’s force. This move prevents the opponents force on the bottom, from being moved until such time as the pinning force has either been moved off of its own accord, or taken by an opposing force. Pinning is not permitted in either the center sector, or on the colored sections in the perimeter ring.


ELIMINATING OPPOSITION FORCES

A moving force, can take an opponent’s force on an adjoining section, as long as it’s not on a colored section in the perimeter ring. The moving force, can take the opposing force, as long as its strength is greater, in accordance with the force strength matrix. In this case, the opponent’s weaker force is removed from the field of play and is replaced on that section by the stronger opposing force. A force that is removed from the field of play cannot be used again, in the course of the game.

A player’s moving force, cannot take a pinned force directly, if the player is also the pinning force. In this case, the player must remove the pinning force as one move, and may possibly then be in position, to take the opponent’s weaker force on the next move.
However, if one opponent is pinning another opponent, a third player can take both opposing forces in the pin, with an adjoining stronger force





CONVERSION and SACRIFICE

If a moving force, on an adjoining section, comes up against an opponent that is pinning another playing piece of the moving force’s network, then the moving force if stronger, can remove the opponent’s pinning force from the field of play and replace it atop the pinned force. The result is a pinned force being converted to a stack.

If a moving force, is stronger than the top force of an opponent’s, two force stack, but weaker than the bottom force of the stack, the moving force and the opponents weaker top force are both removed from the playing field, leaving the opponent’s stronger bottom force intact. This strategic move is known as a sacrifice.


WINS and DRAWS

1)    A win occurs, when a player achieves the objective of getting one of each of their
        forces through to their home location.
2)    If the complete objective cannot be attained by any of the players, over a fixed period of play, then the player with the greatest         number of distinct forces on their home card, wins.
3)    If in the course of play, a player can pin all of their opponents forces in such a
        manner that none of the opponents can complete any further moves, that player is
        declared the winner.
4)    A draw is declared if it is agreed by the players, that no player, will in all probability,
        be able to get any forces through to the home disk.
5)    A draw is declared at anytime all players mutually resign from further play, even though further play might result in a win.