Tandem
A Game Rules Guru original board game invented by Steve Wannall.
Number of Players
2-4 (with 2 players, each player plays 2 colors)
Board
A 24x24 grid of small squares. There should be a hole at every intersection in the grid for a peg to fit into.
Equipment
A single 6-sided die, and 16 small “fences” (each fence consists of 2 small pegs connected by a rubber band, or piece of elastic long enough to stretch across 7 board squares). Each player gets 4 fences in their own color.
Setup
Each player starts with their 4 fences lining one edge of the board. The fences are arranged on the edge adjacent to one another so that the center hole and the two corner holes are left empty. In other words, each fence should occupy 5 intersections on the edge line.
Play
Each player rolls the die once. High roll plays first, with play proceeding clockwise. A player begins the turn by rolling the die once. They may then move one peg of any one fence the number of intersections corresponding to the roll on a straight line away from the other peg. Fences effectively move by “leapfrogging.” To move a fence, a player rolls the die, and lifts one peg from the board (any one they choose). The lifted peg may then be moved away from the fixed peg it is attached to in any direction (except diagonally), equal to the number on the die. A fence can move forward, backward, or side to side, but may never cross another fence.
Object
Move all of your fences from one side of the board to the opposite side. The first player who manages to get all of the pegs of all of their fences in a straight line on the opposite edge of the board from where they started wins. Unlike on the starting line, neither the pegs nor the whole fences need be a specific distance from each other. The first peg of a fence does not need to roll an exact amount to reach the finish line. For example, if a peg (or both pegs) of a fence is only 4 spaces away from the edge, that player could reach the finish line with a roll of 4, 5, or 6.
The second peg of a single fence to reach the finish line must have enough room on the line to move the exact roll. For example, let’s assume a player already has 3 fences on the finish line. Their final fence has one peg anchored on the line already with two spaces to its left (before it hits another fence), and four spaces to its right. If that player then rolls a 3, then the last peg could be moved onto the line to the right of the first peg, but NOT the left (because there is not enough room to complete the roll). Once both pegs of a fence are on the finish line, that fence cannot be moved again.