Fox and Hounds is a board game that has been played across Europe for centuries. It needs only a chessboard and five pieces, and it is a game of two unequal sides: one fox against four hounds. Everything happens on the dark squares. The hounds start on their back row and the fox on the opposite one. The fox moves one square diagonally in any direction. The hounds move one of the four on each turn, one square diagonally, and only forwards: a hound never goes back. Nobody jumps and nobody is captured. The fox wins when it slips past the hounds: once no hound is ahead of it, they can never catch it. The hounds win when they trap the fox so that it cannot move. With careful play the hounds can always hold their line, but one loose move opens a gap, and the fox only needs one. Play either side against the computer on three levels, Easy, Normal and Hard, or sit a second player at the same PC. The board turns round when you play the hounds, so your own pieces always start at the bottom. The game lights up every square your piece can go to. Ask for a hint and an arrow shows a good move; take back a move with Undo. A game left unfinished is kept, so you can continue it later. The rules are explained in the game. Play with the mouse, the keyboard or an Xbox controller, in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German or Dutch.
Games:Board · Windows, Android · $2.59
