Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Player-count sensitive
Deep strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Outmaneuver an opposing line of pieces on Madagascar’s classic grid, capturing by approach or withdrawal and chaining precise moves into sweeping combinations.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
Fanorona is the traditional abstract strategy game of Madagascar. Two players move pieces along a connected grid and capture by either approaching an opposing line or withdrawing from one, a distinctive rule that makes a single move threaten in two directions. Continued captures can chain across the board, but a piece may not revisit a point during the same sequence, so every route demands careful visualization. The rules are compact, the position is fully open, and the depth comes from shaping formations that force favorable captures while preserving an escape route.
