Fell Run
Original · an asymmetric duel
Three steps to the water, and something standing in it.
Ready to play now.
A demonstration of Fell Run, played by the computer against itself.
Fell Run — playing itself
Ways to play
Alone, against the computer
Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.
Play alone5 opponents, weakest first
- First FlightTakes the first legal flight on the board — the blind bound the rest of the ladder is measured against. It loses 17-207 to One Ply, and 1-223 to Five Ply.
- One PlyLooks at the fell after its own flight and no further: rows to the water, the distance to the other runner, and the room each of them has left. 207-17 over First Flight.
- Two PlySees your answer coming. 141-83 over One Ply — 3.88 sd, the thinnest step on this ladder, and quoted thin.
- Three PlyAn exchange and a reply deep, counting both runners’ room to move rather than only the mover’s — an evaluation that flattered the mover was measured, and it taught the ladder to lose. 165-59 over Two Ply.
- Five PlyFive exchanges deep, which on this fell is most of a chase, and it stops dead at a decided fell rather than reading through the kill. 152-72 over Three Ply and 223-1 over First Flight. Against itself it is the game’s own verdict: heron 43, fox 69, of a hundred and twelve chases.
Together, in the same room
2 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.
Play in the same roomOnline, at a table
A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.
Play online
About
A six-by-six fell. The heron starts at the bottom and must reach the water at the top; the fox starts IN the water, between her and it, and must catch her or wall her out. Both move three orthogonal steps a turn, turning as they please, and every step either runner takes is closed to both for ever — so a runner with nowhere to step loses, walled in by the chase’s own history. Three endings, none of them a draw.
How it feels
- Meadow closing behind you
- Arithmetic with teeth
- The long way round is the short way
What the design is for
The wake closes for both
Trails are shared: every cell either runner has trodden is walled to both for ever. The meadow is a commons both spend — and the fox’s short legs become a strength late, because a small trail leaves a wide fell.
Three endings, no draws
The heron reaches the water; the fox lands on the heron; or a runner is walled in with nowhere to step and loses on the spot. Nothing settles level — the fell always answers.
One press flies the flight
A turn is a whole flight of up to three steps, turns and all, and the board offers every cell a legal path can end on. Hover shows the exact flight before you commit it.
The opening is the game
No chance anywhere: the whole chase unfolds from one first flight. At the top rung against itself over a hundred and twelve chases the heron takes 43 and the fox 69, and the three endings all arrive — the water 23, a capture 32, walled in 57. It is quoted because it used to read `heron 112 — fox 0` with the capture never firing at all.
Taught on the wing
Five steps: a first flight, the water, the wake that closes behind both of you, the wall a chase ends against — and then the whole fell to yourself.
- Best at
- 2
- Kind
- Strategy
- Table
- Competitive
- Studio
- Board.game Originals
The opponents
First Flight
Takes the first legal flight on the board — the blind bound the rest of the ladder is measured against. It loses 17-207 to One Ply, and 1-223 to Five Ply.
One Ply
Looks at the fell after its own flight and no further: rows to the water, the distance to the other runner, and the room each of them has left. 207-17 over First Flight.
Two Ply
Sees your answer coming. 141-83 over One Ply — 3.88 sd, the thinnest step on this ladder, and quoted thin.
Three Ply
An exchange and a reply deep, counting both runners’ room to move rather than only the mover’s — an evaluation that flattered the mover was measured, and it taught the ladder to lose. 165-59 over Two Ply.
Five Ply
Five exchanges deep, which on this fell is most of a chase, and it stops dead at a decided fell rather than reading through the kill. 152-72 over Three Ply and 223-1 over First Flight. Against itself it is the game’s own verdict: heron 43, fox 69, of a hundred and twelve chases.
Achievements
0 of 5 earned
Off the Fell
Win a chase of Fell Run.
Swift Wing
Win as the heron in twenty flights or fewer.
To the Very Edge
Win as the heron with the fox on the water row.
Sharp Nose
Win as the fox by capture, in fifteen flights or fewer.
Without a Pounce
Win as the fox by walling the heron in.
Key art
Key art — Board.game art system
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