Designed by Laurent Escoffier and published by Steffen Spiele and Helvetiq, 27 (aka Stakko) is a deceptively simple abstract strategy game for two players. The small-box game takes its alternative names from the fact that it comprises 27 discs (9 black, 9 white, 7 grey and 2 red) and you're creating and moving stacks of discs.
The grey discs are laid out in a line with a red disc at each end. One player starts off with nine black discs stacked on one of the red discs while the other player's nine white discs are stacked on the other red disc. You're each going to be moving your discs towards the other player's end of the line, with the winner being the player with the highest stack at the far end of the line after all possible moves have been taken. And movement rules are super simple: you can move any number of discs from any stack but you can only move forward and the discs you move must move the number of spaces equal to the number of stacks you have at the start of your turn.
That means that players can both move just one space on their first turn, but assuming they split their starting stack they'll start the second turn with two stacks so will need to make a move of two spaces, albeit taking all or some discs from either one of their two stacks.
What makes 27 a highly tactical challenge is that you can land on top of an opponent's stack and therefore effectively take control of it. This means players need to plan ahead and take account of what an opponent is likely to do. And the requirement that your move must always exactly equal the number of stacks you have at the start of your move can mean that in the end game you may have pieces that you cannot get home. If, for example, you have a stack that's reached the red disc at the end of the track and another stack on the adjacent grey disc, that second stack will never be able to get to the end because the only legal move they can make is of two spaces but they have only one space available...
This is an addictive game that plays in just 10-15 minutes, and if you think you've mastered 27, there are variants included in the rules. You can try a variant where stacks have the option to pick up and move with the grey and/or red disc they are on. With these variant rules, players have the option of using their move to reduce the length of the track, so potentially changing the dynamics and certainly the arithmetic of the game.
#27 #Stakko #Helvetiq #SteffenSpiele #abstractgame #strategygame #abstractstrategy #stacking #filler