Gate

• Board
• Objective
• Play
• Variants

Gate is played on a square board using stones of two colors (Black and White) and special diagonal gates, indicating the direction of possible movements.  The initial position of the stones and gates is shown in the following picture:

The goal of Gate is to bring one of own stones to the opposite corner (i.e. E5 for Blacks and A1 for Whites) or leave the opponent without possible moves.

Starting with Black, players take turns moving one of their stones.

A stone may move from one spot to another only through a gate. When a stone passes through a gate, the gate immediately turns 90^o. Stones cannot move in the backward direction, i.e. E5 to A1 for Blacks or A1 to E5 for Whites.

If a moved stone lands on an empty spot, then the player may (but is not forced to) continue moving the same stone again during the same turn. If the moved stone lands on a stone of either color, then that stone is removed from the board and the turn is passed to the opponent.

There are several variants for the game:

• Backward moves can be allowed.
• Capturing own stones can be disallowed.