Astar (game)

Astar is a two-player abstract strategy board game from Kyrgyzstan that resembles draughts and Alquerque in its capture mechanics. It is played on a five by six square grid with two triangular boards attached on two opposite sides, and each player commands sixteen pieces, one set black and the other white. Players position their sixteen pieces across the first four ranks on their own side of the board before play begins, deciding piece colors and turn order first. Pieces move orthogonally to adjacent vacant points, and capturing occurs when a piece leaps over an opponent's piece to land on an empty space beyond, similar to checkers, with multiple consecutive captures possible in a single turn. The game ends when one player captures all of the opponent's pieces, fully occupies the opponent's triangular board, or traps the opponent's remaining pieces so they cannot move.