Gamehelpdiablo

DIABLO by Mark Steere

INTRODUCTION Diablo is a two-player game played with two dice and unlimited black and green checkers on a checkerboard of any even size. The number of sides on each of the dice is equal to half the length of the board. For example, if playing on a 6x6 board, the dice will be 3-sided. The board is initially populated with stacks of height one as shown in Figure 1. The two players, Black and Green, take turns rolling the dice and moving their own stacks. Only entire stacks can be moved. Stacks cannot be subdivided. Black goes first.

PLAYER TURN After rolling the dice, you will perform two actions. You might move one or two of your stacks, horizontally or vertically. Or you might remove one or two of your checkers. Or a combination thereof. See ACTION ORDER below.

INDIVIDUAL STACKING MOVE You may move one of your stacks onto another of your stacks at a distance indicated by one of the dice. There are only monocolored stacks in Diablo. INDIVIDUAL CAPTURING MOVE You may capture by replacement an enemy stack of equal or smaller size at a distance indicated by one of the dice. SEQUENCED STACKING OR CAPTURING MOVE You may move a stack to an unoccupied square at a distance indicated by one of the dice ONLY IF it’s the first move of your turn AND

1. You move the same stack again the distance indicated by the other die to capture, OR
2. You merge the same stack with another of your stacks, either by 
a. moving it again the distance indicated by the other die onto another of your stacks, OR 
b. moving another of your stacks the distance indicated by the other die onto it.

ACTION ORDER If, after you roll the dice, there are individual or sequenced moves available, you must make one. A sequenced move concludes your turn. If, after you make one individual move using one of the dice, there are individual moves available for the other die, you must make one of them. Otherwise, if there are no other individual moves available, you must remove a checker from your tallest stack. (If you have more than one tallest stack of equal height, you must choose one of them to remove a checker from.) If, after you roll the dice, you have no legal moves available, you must first remove a checker from your tallest stack, and then remove another checker from your new tallest stack.

BALANCING RULE Black, on their first turn, plays only one of the two rolled dice, of their choosing.

OBJECT OF THE GAME A player wins when all of their opponent’s checkers have been removed from the board.