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Abalone box art
1987 Ranked #1,925

Abalone

Two-player abstract game where teams of marbles push one another across a hexagonal board. Strength comes from aligned groups, so every move must build pressure while avoiding a counterpush off the edge.

Abstract Abstract Strategy Grid Movement Hexagon Grid Category: Combinatorial

Players

2

Play time

Not listed

Age

7+

Complexity

2.16/5

Rating

6.47

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

This beautiful and functional board has room for two teams of large marbles. Players take turns pushing the marbles around the board, with the goal of pushing six of the opposing player's marbles off the board.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

This beautiful and functional board has room for two teams of large marbles. Players take turns pushing the marbles around the board, with the goal of pushing six of the opposing player's marbles off the board. The central idea is that a column of marbles has weight given by the number of marbles in line. Someone will need to push with a heavier group of marbles in order to push the column along that axis. However, with six possible directions, it's difficult to defend yourself perfectly. Also, it's possible to play the game with up to six players when supplemental marble sets are purchased. A winner of the 1988 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société.

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2
Best with
2
Play time
30 min
Age
7+
Complexity
2.2/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

2
Michel Lalet Laurent Levi

Publishers

4
Abalone Games abalone s.a. asmodee Brio AB