Spyhunting, a.k.a. Capture the Spy - Designed by Chad M. Raeside

For 2 players.

Components

• 8x8 chess board
• One 4-sided die
• One 8-sided die numbered 1-8
• Pencil and paper (for one player)
• Two different tokens; one of the tokens must have a distinguishable feature about it so that it is apparent which direction the token is facing (a knight from any chess set would suffice)

Setup

Arrange the board so that one corner is nearest to each player. The players choose who will play as a spy and who will play as the hunter. The spy's token does not need a distinguishable feature about it. Each player places his or her token on the outermost intersection (of lines) closest to its owner. The hunter's token should face the spy's token. The hunter will require the pencil and paper.

Object

The spy's objective is to travel from one corner to the opposite corner and back without being "shot."

The hunter's objective is to "shoot" the spy before the spy accomplishes his or her objective.

Play

Give each player one roll of both dice. The person with the highest roll goes first. (It should be noted that it doesn't matter who goes first.)

The first player rolls both dice. A series of moves by each player occurs:

1. The hunter always moves first in each series. Each player moves along the lines of the game board rather than the spaces. Hereafter, the intersections of the lines are called points.

2. The hunter begins by moving between 1 and 4 points, based on the roll of the 4-sided die.

3. Then, the hunter writes down on paper the moves s/he plans to make with the 8-sided roll. More about this later.

4. The spy then moves either three or fives points in any direction. More about this later.

5. The hunter then displays the paper for the spy to see. The hunter then executes these pre-determined moves one-by-one.

6. The dice are passed to the next player for a new roll. Repeat the above steps until one player wins.

Rules of movement include:

1. The 8-sided die determines among other things the number of spaces the spy may move. If the die roll was 1-4, the spy may move 3 spaces in this turn. If the roll was 5-8, the spy may move 5 spaces in this turn.

2. Neither player can move diagonally.

3. Both players can change directions any number of times during each move.

4. Each point on the board counts as one pip on the rolled die.

5. No capturing is involved.

6. The hunter must combine rotation with his movement. This is because any shooting will be done in the direction the token is facing. Rotating 90 degrees counts the same as moving one point.

7. The hunter does not have to move in the direction s/he is facing.

8. Neither player can land on the same point where they began the turn.

9. After the hunter steps off "his home point" he or she may not travel within two points of that home point. That is, the hunter must remain three or more points from the corner.

10. The hunter is allowed only to move and rotate when using the 4-sided die.

11. The hunter is allowed to move, rotate, and/or fire his gun when using the 8-sided die. The hunter may only fire once in this series however.

12. The spy may not land on the hunter's occupied point.

13. If the hunter lands on the spy's position during his series, the spy is immune to any shot fired even if the hunter moves off and fires back.

14. The spy is immune to any shot fired while standing on the opponent's corner. The spy may forfeit points of movement to stop on this corner.

15. The hunter's bullet travels until it hits either the spy or the edge of the board. It only travels in the direction the hunter is facing.

Recommended notations for the hunter's movement (on paper):

• F - Forward one point
• B - Backward one point from the direction the token is facing
• L - Move one point left (or northwest) from the hunter's point of view
• R - Move one point right (or northeast) from the hunter's point of view
• TL - Rotate the token to the left until it faces a new point (usually 90 degrees)
• TR - Rotate the token to the right until it faces a new point
• S - shoots his gun in the direction currently facing

The above notations should be written from top to bottom on the paper (as opposed to left to right) to as to not confuse the hunter's intentions. These notations are guides and may be changed at the players' discretion.

Winning the Game

If the spy lands on his or her home point (where the token started) before the hunter shoots him, the spy wins.

If the hunter shoots the spy, the hunter wins.

Optional Variants

• Allow diagonal movement of the players at all times.

• Reduce the number of points the spy may move before the game begins.

• Allow the hunter to win the game if he captures the spy.

• The hunter's bullet travels in all four directions from the token's position.

• Require the hunter to move in the direction s/he is facing.

• Two spies and two hunters can play if four people wish to play on one board.

Spyhunting © copyright 2002 Chad M. Raeside.