• for two players - on a hexagonal board with three hexagons on each side (19 fields)
• for three players - on a board with sides of 3, 4, 3, 4, 3 and 4 hexagons (27 fields)
• for four players - on a hexagonal board with four hexagons on each side (37 fields)

Each player takes a suit of his choice. For instance: Player A has the King of Spades, the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Spades, Player B has the King, the Queen and the Jack of Hearts, Player C has the King, the Queen and the Jack of Clubs, and Player D has the King, the Queen and the Jack of Diamonds.

Each player takes the character cards (King, Queen and Jack) of his suit and lays them out in front of him. These three cards which symbolize his playing pieces remain there throughout the game. Each player takes the first six number cards from 1 (Ace) to 6 of his suit in his hand.

On a hexagonal board there are SIX DIRECTIONS, as opposed to the four compass points we are used to from geographic maps. In the game of Lanza, the six directions are marked clockwise by the numbers from one to six: Direction One corresponds to North on the common compass, Direction Two is North-East, Direction Three is South-East, Direction Four is South, Direction Five is South-West and Direction Six is North-West.

To visualize the directions on the board I recommend to paste or paint a separate hexagon next to the field with the six numbers for the directions on it - similar to the wind rose on ancient sea-maps. The directions are valid for every single hexagon on the board. With a glance at the marked hexagon every player can see which number corresponds to which direction.

Starting Positions

For two players - the six middle fields of the side rows.

For three players - a symmetrical distribution like this:

the first and the last field in an outer row of four fields, the middle field in the next row of five fields, the second and the fifth field in the next row of six fields, the middle field in the next row of five fields, the first and the last field in the next row of four fields, and the middle field in the last row of three fields.

For four players - the six corner fields of the outer circle and the six central fields of the next circle inwards (as on the board for two players).

I recommend to mark the starting positions on the board with small crosses or circles. These marks are of no further importance during the game.

As further equipment you need a handfull of small tokens or coins to serve as victory chips.

Start of the Game

The playing pieces are shuffled and randomly placed face down onto the starting positions on the board, then turned face up. In most cases the result is an asymmetric distribution.

Movement of the Pieces

At each turn every single piece MUST be moved.

Pieces move one step to an adjacent space. Players indicate the direction of movement by placing a number card on the corresponding character card in front of them.

A piece on a field surrounded by hexagons can move in six directions. But since each player has only one number card for every single direction, this means that no two pieces of a player can move parallelly. This restriction is only partially valid for pieces on fields along the edges of the board, because these pieces bounce off the outer edge of the board.

A piece on a field on the right hand edge of the board, for instance, can move North by playing the Ace card (Direction One), or it can move South by playing the number four card, or North-West by playing the number six card, or South-West by playing the number five card. But it can also use the number two card to move South-West because the Direction Two (North-East) ist blocked by the edge of the board and the piece bounces in the opposite direction. Similarly the number three card can be used to move the piece in Direction Six by bouncing off the edge.

Pieces on corner fields can actually move in three directions only, but they can still use any of the six number cards. The bounce rule provides some compensation for the limited range of possibilities the pieces on the edge or in the corners have.

Aim of the Game

The aim of the game is to capture as many of your opponent(s)' pieces as possible. A piece is captured when it collides with a stronger piece, own or enemy.

The relative strength of the pieces is as follows: Kings defeat Queens, Queens defeat Jacks, Jacks defeat Kings.

Having decided in which directions to move their pieces, the players place the corresponding command (number) card face down on each character card in front of them. When all cards are laid down, they are flipped over and the movement commands adjudicated. (There is a certain similarity to Diplomacy).

It is recommended, first to move all the pieces on the board according to their orders half way over the border line to the neighboring field - thus visualizing any conflicts that might occur.

To avoid misunderstandings, the following sequence of proceedings should be respected:

1. First to be resolved are the cases of direct conflict, i.e. when pieces on two adjacent fields are ordered to attack each other. If both pieces are of equal strength, none of them moves. If one piece is stronger, it moves onto the field of the defeated piece, which is taken from the board. The field from which the victorious piece came is now empty and can be occupied by another piece.
2. The second step is to resolve the conflicts arising when two or more pieces are ordered to move to the same field. Here again, first to be resolved are the cases where pieces of equal strength are engaged. They neutralize each other and neither of them moves. After the mutual neutralization of the pieces of equal strength a piece of different strength (higher or lower) can move onto the disputed field. The same rule applies when two pairs of equally strong pieces neutralize themselves. A fifth piece of different strength can then occupy the disputed field.
3. Next to be resolved are the cases when pieces of different strength are ordered onto the same field. The stronger pieces defeat the weaker ones and occupy the field, the defeated pieces are taken from the board. Exception: when three differently strong pieces (K, Q and J) are ordered onto the same field, they also neutralize each other and none of them moves.
4. After all conflicting situations are resolved, the remaining moves (to empty fields) are executed.

At the end of each move, victory chips are given for each enemy piece captured. Pieces belonging to the same player DO capture each other when colliding on a field and the defeated own piece must be taken from the board. But no victory chips are received for the capture of an own piece.

At the end of each move, the defeated pieces come back into play. The owner of a defeated piece can place it on any empty field on the edge of the board. Thus at every turn all players dispose over three pieces which they must move. If the defeated pieces are more than one, they are shuffled face down to form a line to decide which piece is placed first, which is second and so on. The players take their six command cards up and the next turn is played.

End of the Game

The game is won by the player who first achieves three victory chips. If two players simultaneously achieve three victory chips, the game goes on untill one player has outdistanced his competitor(s).

This game © copyright 2003 Michail Antonow.