Control is a hex-based territory game with very simple rules which feels like a territory game

Control the most territory:¹⁾

• Controlled empty hexes: +1 territory
• Controlled hexes with an opponent's stone: +2 territory
• Controlled hexes with a friendly stone: +0 territory
• Opponent of the player to move wins ties

• The board begins empty
• On the first move of the game, red places a stone on an edge hex of the board (inclusive of the corners)
• Thereafter players alternate turns

Each turn, do exactly one of the following (passing is not allowed):

• Place a friendly stone on any empty hex not controlled by the opponent
• Remove an opponent's stone from any hex which is controlled by you (don't replace it with one of your own, just remove it)

Officially the game ends when one player has no legal moves, at which point they lose, but players may agree to end the game early once no more territory can be gained and determine the winner as described in goals. The result will be the same

• Hex-hex board of at least 5 hexes to a side
• Arbitrarily many red stones
• Arbitrarily many blue stones

Control: a player controls a hex if they have stones in the strict majority of adjacent hexes (ties mean noone controls the hex in question). Note that it is entirely possible to control hexes which are not empty and indeed, this is what enables capture (see gameplay)

A finite, drawless territory game. Place where the opponent does not have more adjacent influence, or remove an enemy stone where you have more. Last player to move wins.

Inventor: Takuro Kawasaki

See BoardGameGeek: Control.

When the player to move has no legal placement or capture, that player loses.

Hexhex board. Without a size tag the engine uses base 7. Abstract Play also offers size-5 (marked as the UI default for learners) and size-9. Empty at start. Player 1 starts.

The first stone must go on an edge cell (fewer than six neighbours).

Afterwards, each turn is one of:

• Place on an empty cell where the number of adjacent friendly stones is greater than or equal to the number of adjacent enemy stones.
• Remove an enemy stone on a cell where you have strictly more adjacent friends than the opponent has adjacent stones.

• Current engine version: 20240909 (2024-09-09). On Abstract Play since 2024-09-14.

• https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/418399/control