Lions and Jackals

Introduction

The game is inspired by a scene in the movie The Ten Commandments. Pharoah and Nefretiri were playing a version of it – I’d never seen anything like that before. I was particularly interested in the casting sticks and how they worked. I was not able to find a definitive answer about the game or the stick method, so I made up my own! These particular sticks are unique in that the colors determine if the player gets to use the roll or not. Of course, regular dice could be used but then you wouldn’t get the nice clacking of rubbing them in your hands and tossing. Game play can be about 30-45 minutes, using two colored and one solid casting stick. Game play can be sped up by adding another solid casting stick. Enjoy!

How to Play

1. Place five plinths in each player’s Home Row on each side. Optional: Choose a color – one player tosses a colored stick and takes the color shown. The other takes the remaining color.
2. Each player casts a solid color stick. The player with the highest value goes first.
3. The value on the dual colored stick(s) can be used only by the matching player color in their turn. Toss the casting sticks and move plinths forward according to the exact values (or totals) and colors shown. (Example: If a 2 and 2 and 2 are thrown, you can only move each of three plinths 2 spaces, or one plinth 4 spaces and another plinth 2 spaces, or one plinth 6 spaces. You cannot move 1 plinth 5 spaces and another plinth 1 space, or two plinths 3 and 3.)
4. All available moves must be made, but it is up to the player in which order they are played. A player can not pass on a valid move. A player may make a move that will invalidate another roll value – then that value is discarded. Plinths can be moved over other plinths, but must land in an open space, or on an opponent that is not on a Safe space. Safe spaces are marked by the Sun.
5. If a player lands on an opponent that is not on a Safe space, the opponent’s plinth is removed from the board and place in their Abyss (Land of the Dead). If the opponent’s plinth is on a Safe space and no other moves can be made, that move is discarded and the turn is over.
6. Plinths can not move backwards (for that player’s direction of travel) except when landing on a river. Rivers must be used immediately if landed on directly at the end of a move or in the middle of a combination move (as long as it is on a roll value), but can not be used in the middle of a move. Ex: If the roll is 5, 2, 4, and the river is on space 3, the river can not be taken. If the roll is 5, 3, 4, the 3 can be used to take the river and continue with the other rolls. If the player wants to bypass the river with that combination, the other roll(s) must be used first to skip over it, then the additional 3 may be played with that same plinth. If the only remaining valid roll is the 3 and the river would send the player back, the river must be taken.
7. A plinth in the Abyss can only Resurrected into an open space in the Home Row (or space 6, taking the river if the end is open or occupied by the opponent). A combination of rolls can be used to exit the Home Row from the Abyss as long as it lands first in an open space on an exact roll or combination of valid rolls, and each value of a combination lands on an open space. Home Row is Safe for opponent’s plinths that have gone all the way around the board and landed there, and they can not be attacked or taken off the board. A player’s own Home Row is not a safe space from being attacked from an opponent coming in from outside the Home Row. An opponent in the Home Row cannot attack a player, but can still move forward if spaces allow.
8. The first person to place all five plinths in the opponent’s Home Row or exile all the opponent’s plinths out to the Abyss wins. (See Options.)