Fox and Geese Game

 

This game is played by two people on a board with 33 holes, as shown in the drawing. The board may be made either square or octagonal. The octagon is made from a square by placing one point of the compass at a corner and the other point at the center of the board. With each corner in turn as a center, draw arcs intersecting the edges of the board. Connect these points of intersection across the corners of the board; saw off the four triangles. Smooth the edges and chamfer. Lay out and bore the holes. Make 26 pegs to fit loose. Leave 24 white for the geese and color 2 red for the foxes.

In playing the game, all the pegs are put in their places. The foxes at Nos. 9 and 11; the geese at 7, 8, 12, 13, and consecutively up to 33. The foxes and geese can move on the lines only, in any direction from one hole to the next. A fox can also jump over a goose and take it, provided the hole just beyond it is vacant. In fact, the fox can jump and take several geese in various directions if conditions permit. The geese can not jump, but they can move so as to hem in the foxes and make it impossible for them to move. This means that the foxes have lost the game. In starting the game, the player having the foxes gets the first move. His aim is to jump and capture all the geese and win the game. Each player takes turn in moving. When crowding a goose in on a fox, the player always has another goose behind it so that the fox can not jump it. This game is one of the kind that requires foresight and study. It is highly interesting and entertaining, and by experience, players may become quite expert at the game.

Solitaire—This same board may also be used for the solitaire game. However, that requires 32 pegs. They are put in all the holes except No. 17. The object is to jump and take all the pegs but one, and it must land in hole 17. Unaided, this is difficult to do, and it would take a long time for a person to discover a solution. For this reason, the reader is presented with the following "Key": 5 jumps to 17 and takes 10, 12 to 10 and takes 11, etc.; 3 to 11, 1-3, 18-6, 3-11, 30-18, 27-25, 13-27, 24-26, 27-25, 22-24, 31-23, 33-31, 16-28, 31-23, 4-16, 7-9, 21-7, 10-8, 7-9, 24-22, 22-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-26, 26-24, 17-15, 29-17, 18-16, 15-17.