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Kaalu

Kaalu is a 2-player abstract strategy game of balance.

Overview

Players take turns either placing a stone from their supply, or moving a number of stones from one pile to another, aiming to achieve 'primacy' of four of the seven piles before their opponent.

Components

Kaalu is an extremely simple game, component-wise. It consists entirely of 63 stones, in 3 different colored sets of 21.

Design Goals

I designed Kaalu to be a game that 'could' have been played a thousand years ago, with nothing more than stones/beads/shells that could be found easily, and pits in the ground. The mechanics are fairly simple and have precedent in ancient games.

I also wanted a game that played with the theme of balance -- its been a bit of a fascinating topic for me for a long time, and I like to explore that.

The game lends itself to a chess-like notation system as well, providing the possibility for long-term study should one wish to dive deep.

Get A Copy

Kaalu is a simple game. You are welcome to (and encouraged to!) craft your own copy. It is the recommended way to acquire the game. If you craft a particularly nice version, I'd love to see it! Send me an email :)

If you'd rather purchase a ready-made copy, it is available at The Game Crafter in a screenprinted tin that uses black, white, and red wooden disks. To cut down on cost, the rules are not included in the tin.

Purchase on The Game Crafter: Kaalu on TGC

Support Documents

The rules are freely available here, on BoardGameGeek, and on The Game Crafter.

Rules PDF: Download