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How to play Abalone: rules and setup

Abalone is played by 2 players on a board with 61 hexagonal cells. Black moves first. Push six opposing marbles off a hexagonal board.

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Play Abalone

Quick answer

Abalone is a two-player strategy game on a hexagonal board of 61 positions. Each side starts with 14 marbles. On a turn you move one, two or three marbles in a line by one step; a larger inline group can push a smaller opposing group, such as three against two. The first player to push six opposing marbles off the board wins. This guide covers Abalone. Check the movement, capture and game-ending rules below before applying rules from another variant.

Players
2
Board
61 hexagonal cells
First move
Black moves first.

Ruleset and sources: Abalone

Setup

Game illustration
Game illustration. Follow the setup instructions to prepare a new game.

The board has 61 hexagonal positions. Each side starts with fourteen marbles in the standard 5–6–3 arrangement.

Board
61 hexagonal cells
Players
2
First move
Black moves first.
Rules used here
Abalone

Moves and captures

  • Legal moves

    Move one, two or three connected collinear marbles one step. Inline moves may push a smaller opposing group: 2v1, 3v1 or 3v2. Broadside moves require every destination to be empty.

  • Using the board

    Select one to three connected marbles, then choose an enabled direction arrow.

Special rules

  • Equal groups cannot push each other.

  • A friendly marble behind the opposing group blocks a push.

  • You cannot voluntarily move your own marble off the board.

Winning and draws

  • Eject six opposing marbles to win.

  • An ejected marble never returns.

Example

Sources and rule verification

Ruleset covered
Abalone
  1. Abalone — publisher rulebook (PDF copy)
  2. Abalone rules

This guide describes play on ChessPlayX. Platform-specific conventions are stated in the relevant sections; tournament administration may differ.

A separate rule-review date is not recorded for this guide. The update date is not a verification date.