How to play karogs.online

The goal

You win by attacking your opponent's flag, which is shown as a castle. You also win if your opponent has no legal move left, for example when all their movable pieces are gone or trapped.

The board and the setup

The standard map is 9 squares wide and 12 squares long. Water cuts across the middle of the board and leaves three narrow land passages between the armies. No piece can enter water.

Before the game starts, each player arranges their 36 pieces on the four rows closest to them. Your opponent sees only the backs of your pieces, so where you put your flag, your bombs and your strongest pieces is the first big decision of the game. You can save a setup you like and use it again later (Premium feature).

Besides the standard map there are other maps with different shapes, and Premium players can design their own in the karogs.online Studio.

Your army: the 36 pieces

Every piece has a strength. In a fight the higher number wins. The flag and the bombs never move.

Piece	Strength	Count	What it does
Flag (castle)	–	1	Never moves. If the enemy attacks it, you lose.
Bomb	–	4	Never moves. Destroys any piece that attacks it, except a shovel.
Catapult	10	1	The strongest piece. Beats everything except a bomb.
Soldier 9	9	2	Very strong; only the catapult beats it.
Soldier 8	8	2	Strong attacker.
Soldier 7	7	2	Strong attacker.
Soldier 6	6	2	Middle rank.
Soldier 5	5	2	Middle rank.
Soldier 4	4	4	Low rank, good as a guard or a decoy.
Soldier 3	3	4	Low rank, good as a guard or a decoy.
Soldier 2	2	4	The weakest soldier.
Shovel	1	4	The only piece that can clear a bomb (both are destroyed).
Horse	1	4	Moves any distance in a straight line. A fast scout.

Moving

Players take turns, moving one piece per turn. A piece moves one square up, down, left or right onto an empty land square. Pieces never move diagonally, never jump and never move onto water or onto another piece.

The horse is the exception: it rides any distance in a straight line until water, a piece or the edge of the board stops it.

Fights happen face to face

A fight starts only when you move a piece so that an enemy piece stands directly in front of it, on the side facing your opponent. An enemy beside or behind your piece is never attacked. In the game, a red ring marks the moves that start a fight.

When two pieces fight, both are revealed to both players. The higher strength wins and the weaker piece is removed. If the strengths are equal, both pieces are removed.

Bombs and shovels

A bomb destroys any piece that attacks it, even the catapult, and stays where it is. Only a shovel can clear it: when a shovel attacks a bomb, both are destroyed. Bombs usually guard the flag, so keep some shovels for the end of the game.

Winning, time and draws

• Capture the flag: attack the enemy castle with any piece and you win.
• No moves left: if your opponent can't make a legal move, you win.
• Time: each move has a time limit. When your opponent's time runs out, a Claim victory button appears. Until someone presses it, the player who ran out of time can still move. If both players leave, the game is decided automatically after an hour.
• Draw: if nobody fights for 200 moves in a row (both players' moves counted together), the game ends in a draw.

Strategy tips for beginners

• Hide your flag in the back row and surround it with bombs, but don't make the pattern too obvious.
• A piece that has moved can't be a bomb or the flag. Keep track of which enemy pieces have moved.
• Use horses to scout: a quick attack reveals an enemy piece, so your strong pieces know what they're facing.
• Keep your catapult hidden as long as you can. Once it's revealed, your opponent will avoid it.
• Bluff: move a low soldier boldly, and your opponent may think it's a strong piece.
• Save at least two shovels for the bombs around the flag.
• Don't listen to any tips, create your own strategy!

Ways to play

Play ranked matches against real people and climb the leaderboard, practise against the bot, or invite a friend with your own link. karogs.online runs in any modern browser on desktop or phone, with nothing to download.

Frequently asked questions