Overview¶
Version 0.5.2
About¶
Mǽrstánas is a free libre open source abstract strategy game where players alternate placing stones within the squares of a 7x7 grid with the goal of creating connection points ("hinges") between their own pieces or the edges of the board.
Definition
The word mǽrstánas is the plural form of mǽrstán, an Anglo-Saxon (Old English) word that means "boundary-stone". Source
Objective¶
Players alternate placing stones within the squares of a 7x7 grid with the goal of creating connection points ("hinges") between their own pieces or the edges of the board in order to achieve the highest score.
History¶
Mǽrstánas was created by John Beers. It was conceived in 2022 while working on Oferhlýp. As a fan of Hnefatafl, I wanted to name my games using Anglo-Saxon words to lend a quasi-historical feel to them. Both Mǽrstánas and Oferhlýp use the same 7x7 grid because, if they were historical, it might make sense for people to reuse an existing board, much like chess and checkers.
Special thanks to my cousins, Caleb, Jerome, and Jesse, for play testing and coming up with the Advanced Mǽrstánas rule.