Daniel Solis

One of the things I love about designing abstract strategy games is that you can usually find suitable game bits all around you. In this case, I wanted to demo Embargo for a co-worker while I was in the Raleigh-Durham office. Normally the game calls for a chess board and some pawns, but none were to be found at this office. (We'd be all set if we were in the OKC office, as you well know .) So we improvised this setup using a supply of leftover Halloween candy and used the grid on the cutting board as our game space. Worked out pretty well. And yes, I see the irony of playing a board game with nerds candy. :P

Mark Sherry demos the latest version of the Embargo Beta for Android. » Download: Embargo 0.9 Proper support for smaller (and larger) screens. Easier to select stones near the edges. Unlimited undo and redo. Undo no longer bound to the Back button. Instead, use the Menu button to access undo and redo. After Mark gets back from vacation, we're going to try out a 8x8 or 7x7 board to make it easier to select your stones and make your moves. For now you have to press very firmly to get your presses to register.

» Download: Embargo.apk Embargo is a strategic board game of breaking barriers. Move your pieces any distance horizontally or vertically. If two pieces share the same row or column, a wall is formed between them that no pieces can pass through. Your goal is to get all your pieces to your opponent's corner. See complete rules here. Now Embargo is available for Android phones! This is version 0.8. Consider it an open playable beta. Two players can play by passing the phone back and forth. Hit the 'back' button to undo your last move. It undoes one move only. Online multiplayer and vs AI will come in a later version. This app comes to you thanks to Mark Sherry. You may recognize Mark Sherry from the credits in Happy Birthday, Robot! He was very generous with his math/programming skills during HBR's development and that generosity continues here. Thanks so much, Mark! Here's a QR code for your camera phone:

I designed Embargo in 2006, inspired by a two-player kind of Chinese Checkers called Halma. The rules below are from an adaptation you can play online at ItsYourTurn.com . For simplicity's sake, this is a two-player version. You can play with up to four players, too, each player taking control of one of the four corners. You can play this on a regular chess board with generic tokens moving along the lines and vertices of the grid. Object: The object of Embargo is similar to Chinese Checkers: move all your pieces from your "yard" (the spots where your pieces start) to your opponent's "yard". Your yard is the light-colored section of the board where your pieces are initially placed. Setup: The pieces are initially set up on opposite corners on a 9x9 board. The screen shot below shows the starting position for Embargo: Movement: Pieces move along straight lines for any number of empty spaces, like chess rooks. Pieces cannot move through Wa...