Ibyl
 Ibyl board with player pieces | |
| Years active | Since 1200s |
|---|---|
| Genres | Race, chance, strategy |
| Players | 2 |
| Skills | Strategy, observation, counting, probability |
Ibyl (Darsavian: I Bëlj "around the lake") is a popular darsavian racing board game descended from the khot xeed or umaan.
Equipment
The game is played with 8 pieces per player, one set white, the other black or red, and 5 counting tokens per player, also colour coded, with a blank side and a marked side. The board is a 10x10 square with an 8-pointed star in the centre, all of alternating white and black (or red) colours.
Gameplay
Start
The game begins with both players throwing their counting tokens. The player with the higher number begins the game, at which point they may use their result to deploy their first piece. The pieces begin outside of the board and must be "deployed" before entering play. The first 5 spaces in each player's side of the path are numbered 1 through 5, and the number of tokens that fall on their marked side determines the space a piece deploys at. After this, the opponent deploys their first piece in the same manner, and the game begins.
Movement
Counting tokens determine the amount of spaces that pieces may move. A player throws their counting tokens twice each turn, and may do one of two:
- Use their results to move two separate pieces or one piece twice, a player must first use their first throw before doing the second, as a piece may not move twice if the move would be illegal (i.e. it falls on an ally piece, or a piece in a safe space).
- Use one throw to deploy a piece, and one to move a separate piece. Two pieces may not be deployed on one turn.
Movement starts from the white centre space on each player's side and ends on the black centre space, having made a full rotation around the board.
Removing
A player may remove an enemy piece by landing on top of it, at which point the opponent may choose to deploy it again. The spaces on the corners, usually coloured differently from the rest of the board, are safe spaces where no pieces may be captured.