How To Play - Pylos Game

Presentation and Preparation

- A truncated pyramid board with 16 hollows.
- 15 light spheres and 15 dark spheres.
At the start of the game the spheres are arranged in the reserve area
at the foot of the pyramid (Fig. A).The players draw lots for their
colour.

Light colour starts.
GAME RULES AND OBJECTIVE:
Players attempt to build a pyramid by stacking the 30 spheres.
AIM OF THE GAME:
TO PLACE THE SPHERE AT THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID (Fig. E).
 
The rules below enable players to keep as many spheres as possible. The winner is the player who has been able to keep the greatest number of spheres in his reserve area during the game so as to be the one to put on the last sphere or spheres.
Players must play when it is their turn. Players lose when they no longer have any spheres.

PLAYING A GAME
Start of the game
Each player alternately, puts a sphere from his reserve into any hollow which he has chosen.

Stacking on a square
When one or more squares of spheres are formed on the board or at higher levels, a player can choose to stack one of his spheres on it; when it is his turn to play, he then has a choice between:
- taking a sphere from his reserve and placing it on the board;
- placing a sphere from his reserve on one of the squares of spheres (Fig. B 1 );
- moving one of his spheres already on the board and putting it on a square of spheres, but only if this move raises his sphere by one or more levels (Fig. B 2). This move enables him to save a sphere in his reserve. A sphere on the board cannot be moved if it is already supporting another sphere.

Square in the player's own colour
A player who makes a square of spheres in his own colour (Fig. C 1) immediately takes back either one or two of his spheres from the board and puts them back in his reserve (Fig. C 2);
He may recover any sphere belonging to him by picking them up from any level of the pyramid - including the one which he has just placed - except for those spheres that support other spheres.(Making several squares of spheres in his own colour by putting on one sphere only allows the player to withdraw one or two of his spheres.)

Stacking and square
In the same move it is possible for a player:
- to raise up one of his spheres which is already on the board (Fig. D 1),
- thus to make a square in his colour (Fig. D 2),
- immediately to take back either one or two of his spheres and put them back into his reserve. (Fig. D 3).

END OF THE GAME
The winner is the one who places his last sphere at the top of the pyramid (Fig. E)

CHILDREN’S VERSION
To start gradually, it is possible to play without using the rules for the "square in the player's own colour " - only the rules for stacking allow the player to save spheres.

VERSION FOR MATURE PLAYERS:Alignment
A player takes back one or two of his spheres which are on the board when he makes a square or a line in his colour:To be valid, alignments must be on either the first or the second level. An alignment consists of:
- 4 spheres of the same colour in line on the first level (Fig. F 1),
- 3 spheres of the same colour in line on the second level (Fig. F 2).
A diagonal line is not an alignment.No more than two spheres can be taken back per shot.

DURATION OF ONE GAME
From 5 to 20 minutes. In a tournament it is possible to allocate each player a limited time.
© Copyright 1994 GIGAMIC s.a.
from an idea by David G. Royffe
 

A
B
C

D
E
F