Fabrik

A "worker placement" abstract

Material

• Square gameboard with 11 × 11 spaces
• A sufficient amount of white and black stones
• Two red pieces (called “workers”, or “Arbeiter” in German)

Directions are orthogonal and diagonal.

Preparation

The Fabrik board.

Initially the board is empty.

Black starts by placing one of the workers on any space. Then White places the other worker on an arbitrary empty space.

Black decides on who goes first. This player must place a stone of his color according to the rules described below.

After the game is setup in this way, players take turns.

Objective

Players win by creating a line of (at least) four stones in their color, orthogonally or diagonally.

Play

In each turn players may take – this is optional – one of the worker figures and place it on another empty space. After that, they must enter one of their stones on an intersection point of the two workers’ “lines of sight”. These lines radiate from a worker’s position in orthogonal and diagonal directions arbitrarily far over empty spaces.

The intersection points of the workers’ lines of sight determine where stones can be placed.

In the special case where the two workers are located on the same orthogonal or diagonal line, all spaces between them are considered intersection points – provided that they are all empty.

End

Players lose the game immediately if they cannot place neither of the two workers in such a way that a new stone can be entered.

Players win when they place four (or more) stones of their own color in a straight orthogonal or diagonal direction.

End of a Fabrik match. White to move. White has no move left to prevent a win for Black.