Overview

Lasca (also spelled Laska) is an abstract strategy game for 2 players invented by World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker in 1911. It is a variant of checkers/draughts where captured pieces remain on the board underneath the capturing piece, forming stacks. Captured pieces can potentially be freed later. The goal is to eliminate all of the opponent’s pieces or leave them with no legal moves.

Components

• 1 game board (7x7 grid; only 25 alternating squares are used)
• 11 white discs (soldiers), each with a spot on one side
• 11 black discs (soldiers), each with a spot on one side

Setup

Each player places their 11 soldiers on the dark squares of the first three rows on their side of the board, with the spot side face-down (spot not showing). The arrangement mirrors standard checkers setup on a 7x7 board, using only the 25 playable diagonal squares.

Turn Structure

White moves first. Players alternate turns. On each turn, a player either:

1. Moves one of their soldiers/stacks one space diagonally forward, OR
2. Makes a mandatory capture by jumping.

Actions

Moving

• A soldier or stack moves diagonally forward one space to an adjacent empty square.
• Stacks cannot be split by a move; the entire stack moves together.
• Only the topmost piece determines ownership and movement capability.

Capturing (Mandatory)

• If a capture is available, the player must make it.
• Capture is performed by jumping diagonally over an adjacent opponent’s piece (or stack) to an empty square beyond.
• Only the topmost piece of the jumped stack is captured; it is placed underneath the jumping piece/stack.
• Any pieces that were beneath the captured topmost piece remain in place on the jumped square, now free to move independently on future turns.

Promotion to Officer

• When a soldier or stack reaches the opponent’s back row, the topmost piece is flipped to show its spot, becoming an officer.
• Officers (and stacks topped by officers) can move one space diagonally in any direction (forward or backward).
• Officers can make multiple captures in a single turn (a chain of jumps), but cannot jump over the same square more than once in a single turn.
• Captures remain compulsory for officers.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when one player:

• Cannot make any legal move (no pieces left or all pieces blocked), OR
• Has no pieces remaining on the board.

That player loses the game. The opponent wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Captures are always compulsory – if a jump is available, you must take it.
• Stack liberation: When a stack is jumped, only the top piece is captured. Any pieces underneath it are freed and remain on that square as independent pieces/stacks.
• Multi-jump rule for officers: Officers may chain multiple captures in one turn but cannot cross the same square twice.
• Stacks move as one unit: You cannot split a stack; the whole column moves together.
• Ownership: A stack belongs to whoever owns the topmost piece.

Player Reference

Piece Type	Movement	Capture
Soldier	1 space diagonally forward	Jump diagonally forward over adjacent enemy
Officer (promoted)	1 space diagonally in any direction	Jump diagonally in any direction; can chain captures

Key differences from standard Checkers:

• Captured pieces go underneath the captor, not off the board
• Freed pieces (from under captured tops) re-enter play
• Board is 7x7 (25 usable squares) instead of 8x8
• Pieces are called soldiers (not men) and officers (not kings)