Gamehelppylos

Game play

• Each player alternately places a ball from their reserve into any hollow which they have chosen.

Stacking on a square

• When one or more squares of balls are formed on the board or at higher levels, a player can choose to stack one of their balls on it.
• When it is their turn to play, they then has a choice between:
  1. Taking a ball from their reserve and placing it on the board,
  2. Placing a ball from their reserve on one of the squares of balls,
  3. Moving one of their balls already on the board and putting it on a square of balls, but only if this move raises their ball by one or more levels.
     • This move enables them to save a ball in their reserve.
     • A ball on the board cannot be moved if it is already supporting another balls.
• The third level of balls hides the first level of balls beneath them.
• Select a ball on the third level to see a ball that is hidden on the first level.

Square in the player's own colour

• A player who makes a square of balls in their own colour immediately takes back either one or two of their balls from the board and puts them back in their reserve.
• They may recover any ball belonging to them by picking them up from any level of the pyramid - including the one which they have just placed - except for those balls that support other balls.
• Note: Making several squares of balls in their own colour by putting on one ball only allows the player to withdraw one or two of their balls.

Game End

• The winner is the one who places their last ball at the top of the pyramid.
• A player immediately loses the game if they have no move.
  • i.e. can't move up their ball on the board and their reserve of balls is empty.

Variants

Basic

• To start gradually, it is possible to play without using the rules for the "square in the player's own colour" - only the rules for stacking allow the players to save balls.

Advanced

• A player takes back one or two of their balls which are on the board when they make a square or a line in their colour.
  • To be valid, alignments must be on either the first or the second level. An alignment consists of:
    • 4 balls of the same colour in line on the first level,
    • 3 balls of the same colour in line on the second level.
• A diagonal line is not an alignment.
• No more than two balls can be taken back per shot.