Fanorona Game Online Free
Capture by moving towards an enemy stone or straight away from one. A whole line of stones can fall at once, and a stone that captures can keep going.
Tap one of your stones, then a highlighted point. If a move can capture two ways, tap a red-ringed stone to choose.
What is Fanorona?
Fanorona is a traditional two-player strategy game from Madagascar, where it is the national game. It is played on a 5 × 9 grid of points joined by lines, with 22 stones each, so the board starts full except for the centre point. Stones move one step along a line, and you win by capturing every enemy stone.
Its captures are unusual. Moving towards an enemy stone captures it and every enemy stone in an unbroken line behind it (approach); moving directly away from one captures that line instead (withdrawal). A stone that captures can keep capturing in the same turn. Computer analysis has shown that with perfect play the game is a draw.
How to play Fanorona Game
- White moves first. Stones move one step to an empty neighbouring point along a line. Diagonal lines only run through some points.
- Approach: if the point beyond your destination holds an enemy stone, it is captured, along with the unbroken line of enemy stones behind it.
- Withdrawal: if you move directly away from an adjacent enemy stone, that stone and the enemy line behind it are captured.
- If any capture is possible, you must capture. After a capture, the same stone may capture again, but not onto a point it already visited this turn and not twice in a row in the same direction. Tap the stone to stop.
- Capture all of your opponent’s stones to win. A game with 50 moves in a row without a capture is a draw. Play against the computer at Easy, Medium or Hard, or choose 2 Players to take turns on one device. Undo takes back your last move, and an unfinished game is saved if you leave the page.
Fanorona Game skills
- Looking for chain reactions
- Planning several moves ahead
- Thinking from both sides
Level: Ages 9 and up
Tips for Fanorona
Look at both kinds of capture before every move. Many players spot approaches but miss withdrawals.
Long chains of captures can win the game in one turn. Before you move, check where the stone will land and what it could capture from there.
Early on, captures are huge. Later, when the board is open, keep your stones together so a single approach can’t take a long line.
Fanorona Game questions and answers
How do you play Fanorona?
Stones move one step along the lines. Capture by approach (moving towards an enemy stone) or withdrawal (moving away from one); the whole enemy line in that direction is taken. Capturing is compulsory, a capturing stone may keep capturing, and you win by taking every enemy stone.
Where does Fanorona come from?
Madagascar, where it has been played for centuries and is the national game. It is related to Alquerque, an old game from the Middle East and North Africa.
What happens when a move could capture both ways?
Sometimes one move is both an approach and a withdrawal. You choose which line to take, not both. Here, the game rings both lines and you tap a stone in the one you want.
Is Fanorona a draw with perfect play?
Yes. Computer analysis has shown that the standard 5 × 9 game is a draw if both players play perfectly, though human games almost always have a winner.
Is there a smaller version?
Yes. Choose 5 × 5 for a quicker game with the same rules and fewer stones.