Gounki, the Game!

Gounki is a game for two players that is played on a standard chessboard using two kind of pieces, round pieces and square pieces, which can be clustered to form combined pieces (see above figure). The rules of the game are explained here. The goal of the game is to have any piece (either a simple or a combined piece) of one's color reach past the last rank of the board.

Gounki is a fast paced game, in which the outcome can change dramatically in just a few moves. Tactics are often of greater value than strategy. The game is easy to learn, and will appeal to players of all ages (*), all the more so as games are lively and short (less than 20 moves usually).

(*) From 7 year old and higher.

The game of Gounki was created by Christophe Malavasi, who invented the rules in 1997. His own page on the game is available here.

A nicely crafted Gounki set can be a beautiful object, as you can see on this picture (model created by Danièle Malavasi). Unfortunately, there is no known manufacturer yet, the model on the picture being a unique creation.

However, as only basic shapes are required (round pieces and square pieces), anyone may try and easily build one's own set using various materials. The result might be less achieved from an aesthetic point of view, but it will be equally functional and should enable one to have fun playing the game.