Game Night – Abalone

Abalone

Designers: Michel Lalet, Laurent Levi
Manufacturers: FoxMind Games
Year: 1999
Players: 2
Time: 30 minutes
Ages: 8 and up

I played this last weekend with my brother and sister-in-law. I had honestly forgotten how much I enjoy this game. Of course, it helps that I won.

Basically each player has a set of marbles and they take turns pushing the marbles around the board. The goal is to push six of your opponent marbles off.  But there is a catch. It takes two marbles to move one, and three to move two. With six possible directions, it’s difficult to defend yourself perfectly.

This is a fun game that I wish I played more often. It’s a balance between being of the offensive and making sure your troops aren’t separated too much. My husband’s not a fan. He doesn’t like other people pushing his marbles around, which is the whole point of the game. It’s a very easy game to learn, with only a couple of rules, but “difficult to master.”

The original game has enough marbles for two players. However, buying additional sets allows up to six players to join in. I have the original set and one extra, thanks to my brother who bought it for me years ago. I have to teach Amber to play. And who knows, maybe that’ll make David join in.

I received my copy as a gift from my brother. I am a Funagain Games affiliate.