Gala

Gala, also knows as "farmer's chess" or "pagan chess" was a game played in some farmers villages in northern Germany. The game probably comes from the middle ages. It has been mentioned in the game books by R. C. Bell, Jack Botermans / Pieter van Delft and Glonnegger.

The game is played on a board of ten by ten squares. The four corners of four by four squares are distinguished by a line, thus shaping a cross two lines wide, consisting of the rows 5 and 6 and/or the columns e and f. These lines are called deflection lines. Each player has eight Kampas (pawns), five Horsas and Kornas and two Galas (kings), placed like this: White: Gala a1, j1; Korna a3, b2, c1, i1, j2; Horsa a2, b1, h1, i2, j3; Kampa a4, b3, c2, d1, g1, h2, i3, j4. Black: Gala a10, j10; Korna a9, b10, h10, i9, j8; Horsa a8, b9, c10, i10, j9; Kampa a7, b8, c9, d10, g10, h9, i8, j7.

Galas move in general as kings in chess. Additionally, when a Gala is on one of the four squares in the middle of the board, it may be moved in one move to any empty square on the board with the exception of those squares that contain a piece in the opening setup. Kings can only take when moving over a deflection line. A Korna moves as a rook in chess when in a corner of the board, and as a bishop in the middle of the board. It is also possible to combine these moves in one turn! Kornas can only take in moves where they move over a deflection line. Horsas are just the opposite of Kornas (with an additional small difference in the taking rules): they move as bishops on the corner parts, and as rooks on the middle part. Again it is possible to combine such moves. Horsas only take in moves where they pass the deflection line, but not when they move only one square in rookwise fashion. Kampas move diagonally towards the middle of the board until they are in the middle part or in the opponents corners. It is allowed to move two squares if the deflection line isn't passed with the first move of the Kampa. When the Kampa is in the middle part or in one of the opponents corners, then it may move one square in any direction. When a Kampa is moved back to a corner of the owning player, it can only move diagonally forward again. Kampas only can take in the move after they have crossed a deflection line.

When a player threatens a king of the opponent, he says: Gala! The opponent must defend the king, if possible. Otherwise, the player takes the king of the opponent. One wins the game by taking both kings of the opponent. When only two kings of different players are left on the board, the game is a draw.

There are different variants discussed in the internet concerning the moves and the winning (defining another goal in placing the Galas in the 4 squares in the very middle of the board).