Gamehelptartan

Game Overview

Two Scottish clans clash for dominance in the Highlands. Prophecy says that only a chief crowned by his bishop in a cathedral built by his own people can unify the lands. Rally your clan, build powerful formations, and be the first to complete the coronation ritual.

Tartan is a 2-player abstract strategy game with no randomness. Games last 10–20 minutes.

Goal of the Game

Be the first player to move your Bishop onto a Cathedral of your own color. This completes the coronation and wins the game immediately.

Setup

The game begins with two phases:

1. Placement Phase

Players take turns placing their 12 Family tokens on the hexagonal board:

• A token cannot be placed on a Loch space.
• A token cannot be placed adjacent to any other token (friendly or enemy).
• When no player can legally place a token, unplaced tokens go to the player's reserve.

2. Bishop Placement

Both Bishop tokens are placed on the central Loch.

Pieces and Formations

Tokens can unite by stacking to form more powerful units:

Unit	Stack Size	Movement	Special
Family	1 token	1 space in any direction	Basic unit.
Horde	2 tokens	Exactly 2 spaces	Can capture an enemy Family. Bounce effect on formation.
Army	3 tokens	Exactly 3 spaces, in a straight line	Can capture an enemy Horde (not a Family). Bounce effect on formation.
Cathedral	4 tokens	Immovable	Formed by two friendly Hordes only. Cannot be moved or dismantled.
Bishop	Special token	1 space in any direction	Can move onto any unit (friendly or enemy) to bless it: the unit is then immobilized and protected.

Important:

• Hordes and Armies must complete their full movement — they cannot stop short.
• All spaces along the movement path must be empty (passing through the same empty space twice is allowed).
• A Family cannot unite with an Army.
• A Cathedral can only be formed by two Hordes (not by an Army + Family).

Bounce Effect

When a new Horde or Army is formed (by uniting two pieces), the newly formed unit may immediately perform a full bonus movement within the same turn. This can trigger chain reactions if the bonus movement creates another union.

Gameplay

After the placement phase, players take turns starting with the player who placed the last Family token. On your turn, you must perform exactly one of the following actions:

Action 1: Move a Piece

Move one of your pieces (Family, Horde, Army, or Bishop) according to its movement rules. A move can:

• Occupy an empty space: Move to a valid empty space (not a Loch).
• Unite with a friendly piece: Move onto a friendly piece to form a stronger unit (triggers bounce effect if applicable).
• Capture an enemy piece: Move a Horde onto an enemy Family, or an Army onto an enemy Horde. The captured piece is removed from the game.

Action 2: Dismantle a Horde

Remove one of your Hordes from the board to redeploy your forces:

1. Remove the Horde from the game.
2. Take 3 Family tokens: the 2 from the Horde + 1 from your reserve (that has NOT been captured).
3. Place these 3 Families on empty spaces, each adjacent to a different Loch (not the central Loch).
4. New Families cannot be placed on a Loch or on an occupied space.

Bishop Rules

• Moves 1 space in any direction, like a Family.
• Can move onto a space occupied by any unit (friendly or enemy). The unit beneath is then blessed: immobilized and protected as long as the Bishop remains on it.
• Cannot move onto a Loch (except at the start of the game on the central Loch). Once it leaves the central Loch, it cannot return.
• Cannot move onto the opponent's Bishop.

End of the Game

Victory

A player wins immediately when they move their Bishop onto a Cathedral of their own color. The coronation is complete.

Draw

The game is a draw if:

• Both players agree to a draw, or
• 15 consecutive moves are made without any capture or union.