Alquerque maker
A two-player game of moving and jumping on a five-by-five board, with a starting-position diagram and 24 counters to cut out.
2 players10–30 minAges 7+Arab world & Middle EastEuropeAfrica
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Alquerque is a two-player game of moving and jumping on a grid of 25 points. Each player starts with twelve pieces, and the rules are short enough to learn in a few minutes, so it suits children and adults alike.
How to play
- Place your twelve pieces as in the starting-position diagram: the two rows nearest you, plus the two points to your right on the middle row. Leave the centre point empty.
- Players take turns. On your turn, move one piece along a drawn line to an empty point next to it. Diagonal lines exist only where they are drawn.
- To capture, jump over an adjacent opposing piece along a line into the empty point just beyond it, and remove the piece you jumped.
- After a jump, the same piece may keep jumping if another capture is available from where it landed, so one turn can take several pieces.
- Agree before you start whether a capture is compulsory when one is available, and whether pieces may move backwards. Versions of the game differ on both.
- Win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces. Agree beforehand what happens when a player cannot move.
Tips
- Print on card for a sturdier board, and keep the counters in an envelope between games.
- Before each move, look for a double jump: one capture can open a long chain for the same piece.
- For younger players, keep the starting-position diagram beside the board until they know where the pieces go.
- Shapes matter more than colour on black-ink copies, so check that each player's counters are easy to tell apart.
Where it comes from
Alquerque takes its name from the Arabic al-qirq, and the game is mentioned in the tenth-century Arabic Book of Songs, Kitab al-Aghani. The Book of Games made for King Alfonso X of Castile in 1283 describes it as well. It is widely considered an ancestor of draughts, also called checkers.
Played in: Arab world & Middle East · Europe · Africa
Questions
Where does the name come from?
The name comes from the Arabic al-qirq. The game is mentioned in the tenth-century Arabic Book of Songs, the Kitab al-Aghani.
Is alquerque related to draughts?
Alquerque is widely considered an ancestor of draughts, also called checkers, and its jumping captures will look familiar to anyone who has played draughts.
Why are some of the diagonals missing?
Diagonal lines join only points whose row and column numbers add up to an even number. This is the classic arrangement, and it gives every small square exactly one diagonal.
How many can play?
Two players, each with twelve counters. The pieces page prints both sets, one with round teal counters marked with a circle and one with orange counters marked with a triangle.
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