Monkey Queen

Monkey Queen is a two player game, played on a 12x12 checkboard. The board is initially set up with two queens - one stack of 20 ivory colored checkers and another of cigar, set on the F and G files on opposite sides of the board.

For convenience, some of the checkers can be kept off the board initially, and added to the stacks during play as needed. If you only have 12 checkers of each color, you can start with them and augment the stacks with eight captured checkers each during play.

More advanced players may wish to start the game with stacks of 20 or more checkers. A handicap can be applied by giving the weaker player more checkers than the stronger.

				PlayThe two players, Ivory and Cigar, take turns moving stacks of their own color (including singletons - stacks of height one), one stack per turn, starting with Ivory.  Players will always have a move available and must make one.  Draws cannot occur.

The pie rule is used in Monkey Queen. Black has the option of claiming White's first move as his own, swapping colors.

Each player will always have exactly one queen monkey on the board which is a stack of two or more checkers all of the player's own color. Additionally each player may have one or more baby monkeys on the board which are singletons of his own color.

				Queen movesA monkey queen captures exactly like a Chess queen.  Slide the entire stack in any direction (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) along a straight sequence of unoccupied squares terminated by an enemy occupied square, and capture the enemy queen or baby by replacement.

When not capturing, a queen moves any distance in any one direction, exactly like a Chess queen, except it leaves its bottom checker behind on the originating square, reducing the stack height by one. The queen monkey has thus given birth to a baby monkey.

NOTE: A queen may not give birth to its own baby and kill an enemy baby in the same move. Also, a queen of height two may not make a non-capturing move.

				Baby movesA monkey baby, like a monkey queen, captures exactly like a Chess queen.  Slide the baby (singleton) in any direction along a straight sequence of unoccupied squares terminated by an enemy occupied square, and capture the enemy queen or baby by replacement.

When not capturing, a baby must move toward the enemy queen in the following sense: The straight line distance between your baby and the enemy queen must be shortened by your move.

NOTE: There's no requirement to make a kill in Monkey Queen.

				Object of the gameTo win you must either:


 Kill the enemy queen or
 Deprive your opponent of legal moves by leaving him with a queen of height two, no babies, and nothing within line of sight for said queen to kill.