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Gamehelpvaultnestorgames
Goal
Vault is a 2-player abstract strategy game by Néstor Romeral Andrés. The goal is to advance across the 10x10 grid and establish at least one of your pawns on the opponent's back rank. If you start your turn with at least one pawn on the opponent's back rank, you win!
Setup
- The game is played on a 10x10 board with a 4-toned checkered pattern.
- White starts with 10 pawns occupying Rank 1 (the bottom row).
- Black starts with 10 pawns occupying Rank 10 (the top row).
- White takes the first turn. Players alternate turns.
Your turn
On your turn, you must perform exactly one action: Walk or Jump (Vault).
| Action | How it works | Captures |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | Move one of your friendly pawns one step in any direction (orthogonal or diagonal, like a King in Chess) to an adjacent empty space. | No captures can be made by walking. |
| Jump (Vault) | Select a friendly jumping pawn and a second friendly pawn to act as a pivot. The jumping pawn leaps over the pivot pawn in a straight line, landing at the exact mirror distance on the other side (landing square = 2 x Pivot - Jumper). Jumps can be in any direction (orthogonal, diagonal, or knight-like vectors). Intervening squares may be empty or occupied. | If the landing square contains an enemy pawn, that enemy pawn is captured and removed from the game! You cannot land on a friendly pawn or off the board. |
Board tones
- The board uses a 4-toned checkered pattern.
- Because every jump doubles the distance across coordinates, the starting square and landing square of any jump are guaranteed to share the exact same tone.
- Turning on Colorblind Support (Preference 100) displays distinct geometric markers on the 4 tones.
Game end
- Back Rank Victory: If you reach the opponent's back rank and they cannot capture your pawn with a legal jump, you win immediately! If they can capture it, they have one turn to respond; if they fail to capture it, you win at the start of your next turn.
- Stalemate: If at the start of your turn you have no legal moves remaining (neither walk nor jump), you lose and your opponent wins.