bocch Rules and How to Play
bocch is a two-player board game played on a 6×6 board. Nothing is ever captured: the first player to get two of their stones to the opponent's edge wins. That is the whole goal, but the way a stone's move distance is decided is a little unusual.
Starting position
Each player starts with six stones lined up along their own edge row. Black moves first.
How to read the diagrams: row a at the top is White's home and Black's goal; row f at the bottom is Black's home and White's goal. The number on each stone is how far it can move.
Move distance = the number of stones around you
On your turn, pick one of your stones and move it in a straight line: vertically, horizontally or diagonally. Unlike shogi or chess, how far a stone moves depends not on what kind of piece it is, but on its surroundings.
The distance is exactly the number of stones on the 8 squares around that stone. Color doesn't matter. Even with 4 or more neighbors, the distance is capped at 4. You may jump over stones on the way, but the square you land on must be empty.
In the diagram above, the stone on 2e has the number 2, so it can go exactly two squares, to 2c, 4c or 4e. It can't move just one square, or three.
When you move a stone, the numbers change not only for the stone you moved but for the stones around it too. With a stone now on 2e, its neighbor 3f went up from 2 to 3. Your opponent's numbers change the same way. This is the single most important thing in the game.
A lonely stone can't move
A stone with no stones around it has the number 0. With a distance of 0 it can't move. We call this a "loner" (bocchi in Japanese), which is where the game gets its name.
If you keep flinging stones forward, both the stone that jumped and the stones left behind lose neighbors and become harder to move. Keeping your numbers up by staying close to your own stones is the foundation of strong play.
Winning, losing and draws
- If, when you finish your move, two of your stones are on the opponent's edge row (the far row), you win. For Black that is row a; for White, row f.
- If you have no stone you can move on your turn, you lose.
- If the same position occurs three times, the game is a draw.
- In online games each player has 7 minutes on the clock. If you run out, you lose.
A stone that has arrived on the far row stays on the board, and it still counts toward the numbers of the stones around it.
Three things that will make you stronger right away
Once you know the rules, just keeping these three things in mind will win you more games.
- Bring your edge stones inward early. In the starting position, an edge stone has only one neighbor, so its number is 1. Sliding it one square diagonally forward, the "Snuggle", raises the numbers of both that stone and its neighbor.
- Watch your opponent's numbers. Putting your stone next to an opponent's stone raises its number. Before you move, check that you aren't giving it exactly the distance it needs to reach the far row.
- Don't stop one row short of the far row. A stone one row away can only arrive when its number is exactly 1. If more stones gather around it, it jumps past.
Terms are collected in the glossary, and opening play is covered in The Snuggle and the Tower. bocch is free and needs no sign-up, so you can start a game against the CPU or a friend right away.