Board and setup
A base-8 hexagonal board of 169 cells with six corners and six edges. Red moves first.
Abstract strategy / HAVANNAH
Havannah
Win with a ring, a bridge or a fork.
On a hexagonal board, complete a ring, bridge or fork to win.
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Supports ranked matches, friend invites, AI opponents, spectating.
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HAVANNAHABOUT THE GAME
About the game
Havannah was invented by the game designer Christian Freeling. It is best played on a base-10 board; this site uses the smaller base-8 board suggested for beginners.
In 2002 Freeling offered a prize of 1000 euros, available through 2012, to any program that could beat him in even one game of a ten-game match. He lost the challenge when he resigned a game as White against the program Lajkonik.
Reference：en.wikipedia.org ↗
Rules
Havannah — How to play
Youzai Board Game Club — The server implementation governs play here; tournament and other site rules may differ.
Making a move
Players alternate placing a stone on an empty cell; stones never move or get captured. With the pie rule, the second player may take over the first stone instead of placing one.
Winning and draws
Complete a ring (enclosing at least one cell), a bridge (linking two corners) or a fork (linking three edges; corners are not edges).
Rules on this site
This site uses the smaller base-8 board recommended for beginners. A full board with no winner is a draw.
Helpful examples
- Corners belong to no edge: reaching a corner counts only as reaching that corner.
- A ring does not need empty cells inside; enclosed stones of any colour still count.
- Because the first move is strong, the pie rule exists; an opening stone too close to the centre is often taken over.
Complete beginner guide
From setup to the end of the game
Read these steps in order to complete your first game. This guide combines public rules with this site’s server implementation; where versions differ, this site’s ruling applies.
Goal and setup
The base-8 board starts empty and Red moves first. The first player to complete a ring, bridge or fork wins.
Placing stones
Players alternate placing one stone on any empty cell. Stones never move and are never captured.
Pie rule
To offset the first-move advantage, the second player may use their first turn to take over the opening stone instead of placing one; then the first player moves again.
Rings
A loop of connected stones around at least one cell. The enclosed cells may be empty or hold stones of either colour.
Bridges and forks
A bridge links any two corners. A fork links any three edges; corner cells do not count as edges.
Beginner strategy
Build several threats at once, since a long chain can turn into a bridge or a fork, and break into an opponent’s ring before it closes.
General rules reference：en.wikipedia.org ↗