Marric Games Presents

Push a Penny

or 2 players

​What you’ll need: 8 Black/White coins each: Play with Coppers/ Silver/ Gold of similar sizes. 

How to Play

• • Shuffle the coins on the table and assemble into a 4×4 grid of coins. Now toss a coin to see who goes first; if the caller is correct they play as ‘Black’. If the caller is wrong they play as White. Black goes first.
   
  The object of the game is to ‘take back’ your own coins and to capture your opponent’s coins by making ‘3 in a row’s’.
   
  How to play:
   
  • The first player now pushes one of their coins at the end of a line one space left, right, up or down and in doing so moves a line of coins.
  • If a play makes a 3 in a row they take back either the left or right coin of that line, their own or their opponent’s.
  • If a player has a 3 in a row already on the board they still must move, somewhere else, before taking their coin back.
   
  So here, Black pushes left. He already has a 3 in a row, but by next taking the right end Black he strands the White coin and takes that as well, because if any single coin or group of coins is stranded, meaning connected to the main pack only diagonally, or not at all, as it will be once Black take their coins back, then the player takes them back as well.
   
  With a ‘4 or more’ line the player still only takes back either end coin
  ​
  • But will have a ‘3’ still there for their next go if their opponent doesn’t spoil it.
  • If two ‘3 or more’ in row are made/ are already on the board the player may still only take one coin, but will again have a ‘3’ or more still there for their next go as it stands.
   

RULES

• So here following on from the previous diagram;
   

  • White pushes down. He makes 3 in a row and takes back his top White coin.
  • Black too pushes down and he to takes his top Black coin.
  • If White pushes his bottom middle right coin up he’ll be able to both one of his coins and a Black coin.
  
  

   
  • Players cannot repeat the move back right away.

   
  And finally:
   

  • A player may also move a single coin, i.e. so as not to push a line, but they may not simply push it away from the main pack to strand it.
  • Also players may not strand any coins without making a 3 in a row.
  • If a player has only two or less coins left the last player to take back collects them as well!
  • The winner is the player that wins the most, and wins all the coins left in play.