Roman
Board Games
by Wally J. Kowalski
Petteia (Single Stone Latrunculi)
This is the original version of Latrunculi,
and is identical to Petteia, the Greek precursor. The simplicity
of the rules and the potential complexity that develops in play
suggests that this proposed set of rules may be close to those
that kept the Greeks and Romans fascinated for so many centuries.
In
this basic version, an 8 by 8 board was used. They were lined
up in the eight squares on each player's side. Similar complete
or nearly complete sets of glass stones and boards also suggest
that the number of stones matched the number of squares on each
player's side, regardless of the board size. We can be very certain,
therefore, of this as the starting arrangement in Latrunculi.
We can assume, from the Essex find, that Black plays first.
The objective is to either capture or immobilize
all the enemies stones. The principle of play is to surround
an enemy on two sides, in a horizontal or vertical line. Multiple
stone captures are probably permissible if we take Piso's words
literally when he said, "You win and both your hands rattle
with the captured group."
From all the above, a simple set of rules
for this version of Latrunculi can be extracted or inferred,
and are summarized as follows:
Proposed Rules for Petteia
- Use either an 8 x 8 board or a 12 x 8
board.
- Stones are lined up on the first line
as shown on the board diagram, and Black plays first.
- Stones move as rooks in chess; orthogonally
(horizontal or vertical, but not diagonal).
- A single stone is captured when it is
surrounded on two orthogonal sides.
- Multiple stones can be captured when surrounded
on two orthogonal sides.
- A stone can be played inside two enemy
stones without being captured.
- The outside walls cannot be used to capture
men.
- First player to kill all his opponents
stones wins, or...
- A player can win by blocking up the enemy
stones such that they cannot move.
The above rules seem to work, yet something
is still lacking. Unless mistakes are made, neither player seems
to be able to make progress. Perhaps only the strategy of the
game remains to be discovered, but there is a problem in explaining
how an opponent can be "immobilized." Whether the outside
wall can be used for capture or not is unclear but if it is,
there is no "immobilization" possible. Also, the placement
of a stone inside two others can lead to the "ko" of
Japanese Go, in a single line. Perhaps the ko is what makes the
game, although the ancients made no mention of any such factor.
We welcome feedback and opinions from anyone
who cares to experiment with these rules or any variations thereof.
Principles and Strategy -- Petteia
(Single Stone Latrunculi)
In the image shown at the left, the stone
at 'a' must be removed -- it has just been captured by the blue
stone below it.
A play by white at 'b' will capture the
stone next to it. The white group, a mandra, has been surrounded
and immobilized. If this group had one internal space, it could
still make a move (back and forth internally?), and therefore
it would not be immobilized -- presumably this would represent
a stalemate or a temporary condition. If the enemy was totally
immobilized, then this would represent defeat, as the Roman writers
explicitly stated.
Experimental play suggests that considerable
jockeying for position could occur before either player might
gain any advantage. The capture of a single stone proves to be
a difficult affair, unless his movement is restricted by the
surrounding position or strategic situation. Undoubtedly the
Romans were familiar with basic opening positions and knew the
most effective strategies to pursue. These strategic principles
of play remain yet to be rediscovered, but they must exist if
the rules of the game are correct. The opening position of the
Essex game hints that Black is setting up positions on the sides,
and White is taking the center. Since White has the disadvantage
of playing second, it makes sense to adopt a more aggressive,
center-oriented, strategy.
Above is a photo of the author's home-made
latrunculi board. It is made from a 10x1 pine plank section.
Lines are inscribed 1" square and painted black. The board
was stained mahogany and then lacquered. The stones used are
Japanese Go stones.
