The Battle of Ogre's Knee
The Battle of Ogre's Knee
The Battle of Ogre's Knee is an Abstract Strategy game for four players. The primary aim of the Battle is to capture territory on the board. At the start the four armies, each comprising Giants, Ogres, Trolls, Dwarves, Hobgoblins and Goblins are positioned, facing each other, at the corners of the board. As the game begins the four armies go into battle. Capture is rewarded by gold which in time will build up so that each army can build a monument. More gold will allow players to build walls around the territory they dominate enclosing both men and monument. The number of men each player has surviving and the amount of gold each has left at the end of the game will not necessarily help players win. It is all about territory.
The Battle of Ogre's Knee
Opening position
- The Giants, Trolls, Ogres, Dwarves, Hobgoblins and Goblins can all move orthogonally and diagonally but the number of squares they can move increases from the slow and ponderous Giants up to the sly and speedy Goblins.
- The Giants, Trolls, Ogres, Dwarves, Hobgoblins and Goblins each have a different value. Capture is custodial, captors having to have a higher combined value than those being captured. Players can combine to capture their opponents' pieces.
- A single square on the board can be occupied by men from more than one army, so long as the combined value does not exceed 14.
- Capture is rewarded by gold with which players can buy a monument and the walls to surround as much territory as possible.
- The game is over when the four players agree to call a truce. At this point the board will have been divided up into territories, the winner having the largest. Here is an example.
The Battle of Ogre's Knee
A simple endgame example
Red, at the top left, have managed to surround 13 squares, including one captured by a Troll toward the end of the game from the smaller territory belonging to White, who have five squares.
Blue have managed to dominate the bottom left hand corner of the board, but have lost one square to Yellow who have managed to surround a stranded Troll and Hobgoblin. Yellow have also managed to reclaim their monument which was, for a time, within Blue's territory. Blue have 14 squares
Yellow have managed to expand their territory at the expense of White, despite being squeezed by Blue earlier on in the game. With the two squares within Blue's territory, Yellow have 17 squares and have won.
The example given is a relatively simple outcome - however, you will find that often a more complex and chaotic endgame may result!
If you'd like to know more, the full rules to the game are available here. You can also look at our BoardGameGeek entry, which includes an illustrated report of their first play and a Q and A session on some of the finer details of the rules by one of the first purchasers of the game (many thanks to Plum for posting these!)
The Battle of Ogre's Knee is available exclusively from our shop.