Dead simple game for you today: Fox Hunt (also known as Box the Fox or Fox and Hounds) is a variation of Halatafl, a more complex and less approachable old Scandinavian game. It’s also asymmetrical, which is always interesting and, like all hunt games, it isn’t entirely abstract. We’ll let that slide for now, though.
It’s one of the simpler games I’ve seen that uses a full chessboard, so get excited.
Pieces
Apart from the chessboard, all you’ll need are one token for the “Fox” player and four for the “Hounds.” Get a free chessboard here and find something to serve as tokens. I have faith in your ability to do so.
Rules
Like Draughts, this game takes place only on the black squares of the board (or white, if you want). The hounds start on one edge of the board, and the fox starts anywhere on the opposite edge (the fox player can choose where to start).
The Fox
The fox is trying to cross the board and get to one of the hounds’ starting positions. He can move diagonally in direction, one space per turn. He cannot jump over anything. He wants to avoid being “pinned” by the hounds -- he loses when he cannot move.
The Hounds
The hounds are less mobile than the fox, but they are greater in number. The hounds’ goal is to trap the fox somewhere so that he cannot move -- this could be against the edge of the board, in a corner, or by surrounding him on four sides. Only one hound can move per turn, and they can only move diagonally forward. They also cannot jump, and if they reach the other edge of the board, they’re out of luck.
If you like this game, you might want to check out Bagha Chal, a slightly more complicated take on the hunt genre.
