Surakarta
Ride the looping tracks to capture. Take every enemy piece to win.
How to play Surakarta
Surakarta is a two-player strategy game named after the city of Surakarta (Solo) in Central Java, Indonesia. The board is a 6×6 grid of points. Two closed tracks, called circuits, run along the grid lines and swing around the corners in round loops: a small inner circuit (blue here) and a large outer circuit (pink). Each player starts with 12 pieces on the two rows nearest to them. Gold moves first.
Goal
Capture all of your opponent's pieces.
Turn by turn
- Step. Move one of your pieces one point in any direction, straight or diagonal, to an empty point. Tap a piece, then tap a glowing dot.
- Capture by riding a loop. To capture, a piece travels along a circuit line, as far as it likes, and must pass through at least one corner loop before it lands on an enemy piece. The enemy piece is removed and yours takes its place.
- The track must be clear. Every point on the way must be empty. Your piece's own starting point counts as empty, so a route may cross it.
- See your options. When you pick up a piece, each possible capture route is drawn as a marching line and the target gets a red ring. Pieces that can capture right now pulse.
- Captures are optional. You never have to capture; a quiet step is always allowed.
End of the game
The player who takes every enemy piece wins. If a player cannot move, they lose. To keep games short, if 30 moves each pass with no capture at all, the game ends and the player with more pieces wins; equal numbers is a draw. The status bar warns you when this limit is near.
The four corner points are on no circuit: a piece there is safe, but it cannot capture either. Like quick tactical games? Try Alquerque too.
Strategy tips
- Check both directions. A circuit can be travelled either way. Before you move, trace every loop line through your piece and see who it points at.
- Open lines with care. Moving a piece off a circuit line can open a long route for an enemy piece behind it. Often the piece that moves is not the one that gets taken.
- Defend by recapture. If an enemy captures onto a point that one of your pieces can reach through a loop, you take back at once. Keep pieces watching the key lines.
- Crossing points are strong. Points where two circuit lines meet give a piece up to four capture routes. They are also more exposed.
- Use the corners. When you are ahead, park pieces in the corners where they cannot be captured, then hunt with the rest.
Surakarta FAQ
Why can't my piece capture straight along a line?
In Surakarta a capture must go through at least one corner loop. A piece that moves along a line without looping can only step one point.
Do I have to capture when I can?
No. Unlike draughts, capturing is never forced. You may always make a normal one-step move instead.
What do the two colours of track mean?
They are the two separate circuits. The blue inner circuit uses the second and fifth lines with small loops; the pink outer circuit uses the two middle lines with big loops. A capture stays on one circuit from start to finish.
How strong is the computer?
Easy mostly moves at random. Medium looks a few moves ahead. Hard searches for about a second and rarely leaves a piece hanging.
