Breakthrough

How to play Breakthrough

Breakthrough is a modern strategy game invented by Dan Troyka in 2000. It uses a normal 8×8 board and only one kind of piece: a pawn. The rules take a minute to learn, but the game is full of sharp tactics. Each player starts with 16 pawns on their two closest rows. White moves first, then the players take turns.

Goal

Be the first to get one pawn onto the far row on your opponent's side. You also win if you capture every enemy pawn.

Turn by turn

1. Pick a pawn. On your turn, move exactly one of your pawns. Tap it and the squares it can reach light up.
2. Step forward. A pawn moves one square toward the enemy side: straight ahead or diagonally ahead. Pawns never move sideways or backward.
3. Straight moves need space. A pawn can only step straight ahead onto an empty square. It cannot capture straight ahead.
4. Capture on the diagonal. If an enemy pawn stands diagonally in front of yours, you may step onto its square and take it off the board. Captures are never forced.

End of the game

The game ends as soon as one pawn reaches the far row, or when one player has no pawns left. In the very rare case that a player has pawns but no legal move, that player loses. There are no draws: someone always breaks through.

Playing against the computer? Your pawns always start at the bottom. The last move is highlighted so you can follow the play. If you enjoy pure strategy with simple pieces, also try Lines of Action or Checkers.

Strategy tips

• Keep your home row. Pawns on your back row are your last defence. Leave a few of them at home, especially on the second and seventh columns, for as long as you can.
• Move as a wall. Pawns that stand side by side or protect each other diagonally are hard to break. A lone pawn far ahead is easy to take.
• Count the trades. Before you capture, check if the enemy can take back. Trading one for one is fine when it opens a path for you, not for them.
• Watch for runners. A pawn that gets past your front line is very dangerous. Two rows from your home, it needs to be stopped at once.
• Save tempo moves. Later in the game, safe waiting moves are precious. The player who runs out of safe moves first often has to open a door for the enemy.