Kolowis Awithlaknannai facts for kids

Awithlaknannai

Kolowis Awithlaknannai is a fun two-player strategy board game. It's also known as Fighting Serpents. This game comes from the Zuni Native American Indians.

A man named Stewart Culin wrote about it in his 1907 book, Games of the North American Indians. This might have been the first time the game was ever written down! Later, R.C. Bell also described it in his 1969 book, Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. R.C. Bell gave it the name "Fighting Serpents." No one knows exactly why he chose this name. Maybe the pieces look like two snakes fighting when the game starts.

Kolowis Awithlaknannai is a bit like Draughts and Alquerque. You capture pieces by jumping over them. Some people think the Spanish brought Alquerque to America a long time ago. This might have influenced Kolowis Awithlaknannai, but we don't have strong proof. The game board is also very unique. It's much longer than it is wide. Unlike Draughts, pieces can move in any direction from the start. There are no special "king" pieces or back rows. The board uses lines instead of squares.

What is the Goal of the Game?

The main goal of Kolowis Awithlaknannai is to capture all of your opponent's pieces. If you can't capture them all, the player with the most pieces left wins. Another way to win is to block your opponent. If they can't make any moves, you win! Players cannot skip their turn.

What Do You Need to Play?

To play Kolowis Awithlaknannai, you need a special board and pieces.

The Game Board

The board has three straight lines that run side-to-side. These are called rows. Many diagonal lines connect these rows. Some lean left, and some lean right. A curved line also connects the very ends of the board.

Pieces are placed on the "intersection points." These are spots where lines cross.

• The top and bottom rows each have 16 intersection points.
• The middle row has 17 intersection points.

The Game Pieces

Each player needs 23 pieces. One player uses black pieces, and the other uses white pieces. You can use any two different colors or objects that are easy to tell apart.

How to Play Kolowis Awithlaknannai

Playing Kolowis Awithlaknannai involves setting up the board and understanding how to move and capture.

Setting Up the Game

1. Each player places their 23 pieces on the row closest to them.
2. They also place pieces on the right half of the middle row. This is from each player's point of view.
3. At the very start, only three spots are empty: the middle point of the board, and the two points at the very ends.

Starting the Game

1. It doesn't matter which player goes first.
2. However, the first player must move one of their pieces to the empty middle spot.
3. The other player must then capture this piece. Because of this, some people think the first player has a disadvantage.

Moving and Capturing Pieces

There are two main types of moves in the game:

• Non-capturing moves: You can move one of your pieces one space per turn. Your move must follow the lines on the board.
• Capturing moves: You can capture an enemy piece. This move must also follow the lines on the board.

Capturing works like in Draughts or Alquerque.

• Your piece jumps over an enemy piece that is next to it.
• It must land on an empty spot right beyond the enemy piece.
• The jump doesn't have to be straight, as long as it follows the board's pattern.
• Captured pieces are removed from the board.
• You must capture a piece if you can.

Multiple Captures

If you can make more than one capture in a single turn, you are allowed to. You can choose how many captures you want to make.