AI-friendly board game rules summaries — use with Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI assistant
Accasta is a pure abstract stacking game for two players on a 37-space hexagonal board. Each player commands 20 pieces of three types (Shields, Horses, Chariots) that move different distances. Players stack pieces on top of each other to capture and control them, aiming to place at least 3 of their own stacks in the opponent’s castle (the 9 specially marked home spaces). The game features a unique stack-height limit and the ability to chain multiple moves in a single turn by splitting stacks.
Place all 40 pieces in the fixed starting position: each player’s 20 pieces are placed on their side of the board on the 9 castle spaces and adjacent spaces. White moves first; players alternate turns. Passing is not allowed.
On your turn, you must move at least one piece. You may make multiple moves in a single turn through stack splitting (see Actions). Your turn ends when you either have no more pieces to split off, or when you release an enemy piece.
All pieces move in a straight line along one of the six hexagonal directions. They cannot change direction during a move and cannot jump over other pieces.
| Piece | Movement Range |
|---|---|
| Shield | Exactly 1 space |
| Horse | Up to 2 spaces |
| Chariot | Up to 3 spaces |
A piece’s movement range does not change based on its position in a stack.
Pieces can land on friendly or enemy pieces/stacks, creating stacks. The topmost piece (the “head”) dominates the entire stack. All enemy pieces within a stack controlled by your head piece are captured – their owner cannot access them.
Stack Height Limit: A stack may contain no more than 3 pieces of the same color. This applies when landing on both friendly and enemy stacks.
When moving, the top piece of a stack can “lead” any number of pieces below it. You can split a stack at any point, moving the top portion (led by the head piece) according to the head piece’s movement rules.
When you split a stack and a friendly piece is uncovered underneath, that piece may also move on the same turn. This can chain further if more friendly pieces are uncovered. However, if you uncover (release) an enemy piece, your turn ends immediately.
A stack containing 3 captured enemy pieces is invulnerable – it cannot be captured again because doing so would violate the 3-pieces-of-same-color rule. Safe stacks are a central tactical element.
By capturing a stack, all previously captured friendly pieces within it are liberated, and all previously dominating enemy pieces become captured.
A player wins by controlling at least 3 stacks in the enemy’s castle at the beginning of their turn. The stacks must be topped by the winning player’s pieces.
| Piece | Range | Symbol | |——-|——-|——–| | Shield | 1 | S | | Horse | 1-2 | H | | Chariot | 1-3 | C |