Gamehelpnibble

The 81 pieces are placed on the board such that no two of the same color are orthogonally adjacent (diagonally adjacent is OK).

Players alternate turns taking pieces from the board according to the following rules:

1) Pieces may only be taken if they have at least two adjacent exposed sides; 2) A player must always take at least one piece on their turn (that is, players may not pass) and may take as many additional pieces as they like on a turn, as long as all of those pieces are the same color as the first one. They are not required to take all of the available pieces of that color and may opt to leave one or more behind; 3) A piece may not be taken if it would divide the remaining pieces into two separate groups (counting orthogonal connections only).

WINNING THE GAME

A player wins the game immediately if they achieve either of the following:

1) Collect all 9 pieces of one color; 2) Collect at least 7 pieces each of three adjacent colors in a row.

If neither player is able to accomplish either of these, continue play until all the pieces have been taken. The winner is the player with the majority of majorities (5 or more pieces in each of 5 or more colors).