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?
Move checkers exactly as far as their shared line permits and connect every surviving piece before your opponent does.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Square Grid
Use an orthogonal grid where position and adjacent spaces shape movement or placement.
Static Capture
Capture opposing pieces through fixed positional relationships.
Read the full game description
Lines of Action is Claude Soucie’s classic two-player connection game, first published in Sid Sackson’s A Gamut of Games. Each side begins with twelve pieces around the edges of an eight-by-eight grid. A piece moves horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, but the distance is fixed: it must travel exactly as many spaces as there are pieces of either color anywhere on that line. Friendly pieces may be jumped, enemy pieces block passage, and an opposing piece on the destination square is captured. The goal is not material advantage but connectivity—every remaining piece must form one contiguous group using orthogonal or diagonal adjacency. Because captures can make an opponent’s task easier, the game rewards shape, tempo, blocking, and an exact reading of how every move changes several lines at once.
