Toguz korgool
Encyclopedia
Toguz Korgool – Logical Kyrgyz board game that is played by two players.
If the last stone falls into a hole on the opponent's side, and this hole then contains an even number of stones, these stones are captured and stored in the player's kazan. If the last stone falls into a hole of the opponent, which then has three stones, the hole is marked as a tuz (tuz in Kyrgyz language means "salt").
There are a few restrictions on creating tuz:
It is permitted to make such a move, but it wouldn't create a tuz.
The stones that fall into a tuz are captured by its owner. He may transfer its contents at any time to his kazan. The game ends when a player can't move at his turn because all the holes on his side, which are not tuz, are empty.
When the game is over, the remaining stones, which are not yet in a kazan or in a tuz are won by the player on whose side they are. The winner is the player who, at the end of the game, has captured more stones in their tuz and their kazan. When both players have 81 stones, the game is a draw.
Note: The game has similarities with the Kazak national game called “Toguz Kumalak”, but there are also principal differences.
Board
The game is played on a special board with two rows of nine holes. There are two “kazan”s (pools) between these rows, which are used to collect captured stones of each user, separately. The players own the kazan in the same side of the board. At the beginning there are nine stones in each hole, except the kazans, which are empty, so players need a total of 162 stones.Game start
Board sides are labeled as black and white and the player sitting on the white side starts the game. On the above picture top side is a white (as can be seen from the white letters) and the bottom is black.Game process
Players move turn by turn, by taking stones from a hole and distributing them to other holes. On his/her turn, a player takes all the stones of one of his holes, which is not a tuz (see below) and distribute them anticlockwise, one by one, into the following holes. The first stone must be dropped into the hole, which was just emptied. However, if the move began from a hole, which contained only one stone, this stone is put into the next hole.If the last stone falls into a hole on the opponent's side, and this hole then contains an even number of stones, these stones are captured and stored in the player's kazan. If the last stone falls into a hole of the opponent, which then has three stones, the hole is marked as a tuz (tuz in Kyrgyz language means "salt").
There are a few restrictions on creating tuz:
- A player may only create one tuz in each game.
- The last hole of the opponent (his ninth or rightmost hole) cannot be turned into a tuz.
- A tuz cannot be made if it is symmetrical to the opponent's one (for instance, if the opponent's third hole is a tuz, you cannot turn your third hole into one).
It is permitted to make such a move, but it wouldn't create a tuz.
The stones that fall into a tuz are captured by its owner. He may transfer its contents at any time to his kazan. The game ends when a player can't move at his turn because all the holes on his side, which are not tuz, are empty.
When the game is over, the remaining stones, which are not yet in a kazan or in a tuz are won by the player on whose side they are. The winner is the player who, at the end of the game, has captured more stones in their tuz and their kazan. When both players have 81 stones, the game is a draw.
Note: The game has similarities with the Kazak national game called “Toguz Kumalak”, but there are also principal differences.