Named after the Javanese city of Surakarta, this game has a board unlike any other: a 6×6 grid whose outer lines curl back on themselves in eight arcs. Ordinary moves are one step in any direction, but a capture must ride at least one loop before it lands.
Variant implemented
Standard Surakarta: 6×6 points with eight looping arcs, 12 pieces each, quiet moves to adjacent points, capture only by travelling through at least one loop.
Board and pieces
A 6×6 grid of points whose outer lines curl back on themselves in eight arcs — an inner and an outer loop at each corner.
Setup
Twelve pieces each, filling the two rows nearest each player.
Turn
A quiet move is one step to any adjacent empty point, including diagonally.
Capture and scoring
A capture travels along a row or column and must ride at least one loop before landing on the piece it takes. Every point along the way, before and after the loop, must be empty. A capture that never passes through a loop is illegal.
Win condition
Capture all twelve enemy pieces, or leave your opponent with no legal move.
Draw condition
A long stretch with no capture is scored on material.
Special rules
Only the four inner rows and four inner columns connect to loops. A piece on the outer edge cannot attack until it moves inwards, which makes the opening unusually positional.
Computer opponent
Alpha-beta with capture-first ordering. The evaluation counts material, loop-line presence and the number of available captures for each side.