How to Play Lines of Action

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Lines of Action is a two-player abstract strategy game played on a standard 8x8 board. Each player controls twelve pieces arranged along opposite edges of the board and must manoeuvre them so that every surviving piece touches at least one other of their own, forming a single connected group. Simple to learn but rich in tactical depth, it rewards players who can think several moves ahead while adapting to a constantly shifting board.

The game appeals to fans of chess and draughts because it uses familiar equipment yet demands an entirely different kind of thinking: the objective is connection rather than capture, which turns conventional instincts about attacking and defending on their head. It is typically played at a table with a physical board and pieces, though it is equally well suited to correspondence play on paper or online.

A little history

Lines of Action was invented by Claude Soucie and first published in 1969 in Sid Sackson's influential book on abstract games. Its origins beyond that are clear and well documented: Soucie devised the rules specifically for inclusion in Sackson's collection, and the game subsequently attracted a following among abstract strategy enthusiasts, eventually appearing in computer implementations and academic research on game-playing algorithms. Its wider popularity among board game players grew steadily through the 1970s and 1980s as Sackson's book was reprinted and circulated.

Setting up

1. Place the board so that both players face each other across one of the short sides.
2. Black places all 12 of their pieces along the top and bottom rows of the board (rows 1 and 8), filling every square in each row except the four corner squares.
3. White places all 12 of their pieces along the left and right columns of the board (columns a and h), filling every square in each column except the four corner squares.
4. The four corner squares remain empty at the start of play.
5. Black moves first.

How to play

1. Players alternate turns throughout the game; Black always goes first.
2. On your turn you must move exactly one of your own pieces.
3. A piece may move in any of eight directions: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
4. The piece must travel exactly as many squares as the total number of pieces (both yours and your opponent's) that lie on the same line in the direction of movement. Count every piece on that line, including the piece you are moving, before it moves.
5. A piece may not jump over an opponent's piece. If an opponent's piece stands in the path of movement before the destination square, that move in that direction is not legal.
6. A piece may jump over your own pieces freely, provided the destination square itself is not occupied by one of your own pieces.
7. If the destination square is occupied by an opponent's piece, that opponent's piece is captured and removed from the board.
8. You may not move to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces.
9. If a player has no legal moves available, they pass their turn. This is rare but can occur in tight positions.
10. Play continues until one player connects all their remaining pieces into a single contiguous group, or until one player's pieces are all captured.

Winning and scoring

You win immediately when all of your remaining pieces on the board form a single connected group, meaning every piece touches at least one other of your pieces either orthogonally or diagonally. Pieces that have been captured no longer count, so if your opponent has reduced you to one piece, that single piece is itself a connected group of one and you win at once. You also win if you capture all of your opponent's pieces. If a move simultaneously connects all of the moving player's pieces and all of the opponent's pieces, the player who made the move wins.

The fine points

The most common dispute involves counting pieces on a line before moving. The moving piece itself counts toward the total, so a line with four pieces on it requires movement of exactly four squares, not three. Both players' pieces count together: the line count is not restricted to one colour. If players disagree on the count, recount calmly from one edge of the board to the other, including every piece irrespective of colour.

A frequent edge case arises when capturing an opponent's piece would immediately connect all of your own remaining pieces. This is a legal win: the capture happens, the opponent's piece is removed, and if your pieces now form one group, the game ends in your favour. Similarly, a player should not be penalised for making a move that inadvertently allows the opponent to win on the very next turn; there is no obligation to block, and no takebacks are permitted once a piece has been released.

How to win more often

• Prioritise consolidation over capture. Spreading your pieces further apart to attack usually makes your own position harder to connect. Ask whether each move brings your group closer together before making it.
• Count lines before you move. Experienced players scan the board quickly to see which of their pieces have short line counts, giving them more predictable and controlled movement options.
• Use captures selectively. Capturing an opponent's piece changes the line count for every line that passed through that square, which can open or close movement options for both players unexpectedly.
• Watch the edges. Pieces on the edges of the board have fewer directions available and can become isolated quickly. Keep edge pieces connected to the main group as early as you can.
• Think about your opponent's connection as much as your own. If your opponent is one move from connecting, stopping that connection is usually more valuable than advancing your own consolidation by a single step.

Variations

Scrambled Eggs

In this starting-position variant, the 24 pieces are distributed randomly across the board rather than in the standard edge configuration, with each player still controlling 12 pieces. This removes the symmetry of the opening and forces both players to evaluate connectivity from a far more complex initial position. It is well suited to players who find the standard opening too predictable.

Misere Lines of Action

The winning condition is reversed: the first player to connect all their remaining pieces into one contiguous group loses. This variant rewards deliberately keeping pieces spread across the board while forcing the opponent toward unity, and it produces noticeably different strategic priorities from the standard game.

6x6 Lines of Action

Played on a smaller 6x6 board with six pieces per player arranged along the short edges, this variant produces a faster game that is particularly suitable for younger players or those new to abstract strategy. The reduced board makes lines shorter, decisions more immediate, and games typically last under fifteen minutes.

No-Capture Lines of Action

Captures are forbidden entirely: a player may not move to a square occupied by an opponent's piece. The game is won solely by connecting all of one's own pieces. This variant shifts play toward pure manoeuvring and tends to produce longer, more positional games with no way to reduce the opponent's piece count.

Lines of Action: frequently asked questions