Rules of angels
The rules of angels (also known as the laws of angels), govern the play of the game of right angels. Angels is a two-player abstract strategy board game. Each player controls 8 pieces, called angels, which move around the board. Each player also has one flag which they must protect. The object of the game is to capture the other player's flag, and the game ends when one player returns the other player's flag to their home base. Each type of pieces moves in a distinct way. The game can end in various ways besides capturing the flag, such as a player resigning, or a player being unable to move. If a player is unable to move, they lose the game. The game is played on a diagonal board, with a 5x5 grid of squares. The squares are cut in half diagonally, so that each square is made up of two triangles.
The exact origins of Angels was a group project for a class at the Success Academy in 2022 and 2023. The game was created by a group of students, and was later refined by the students. The game was originally called "Right Angels", but was later shortened to "Angels" for simplicity. The game was originally created as a game that could be played on a computer, but was later adapted to be played on a physical board. The game was originally created in a physical board, but was later adapted to HTML5 and JavaScript. To make it more accessible to a wider audience. The rules remain as they were in the original state. It is an overhaul of the game of Chess.
Besides the basic moves of the pieces, rules also govern the equipment used, time control, conduct and ethics of players, and the recording of moves using chess notation.
Initial Setup
Angels is played on a board, which is divided into a grid of 50 triangles (25 squares) of alternating colors. Regardless of the actual colors of the board, the light-colored triangles are called "light" or "white", and the darker-colored triangles are called "dark" or "black". The board is placed with a light-colored triangle at the bottom. Whoever has a light-colored triangle at the bottom is the "black" player, and whoever has a dark-colored triangle at the bottom is the "white" player. Lines connected by corners are called "diagonals". Lines connected by sides are called "sides". Horizontal lines are called "ranks".
Each player starts with 8 angels, and 1 flag:
| Piece | Flag | Skull | Cannon | Crown | Pawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Pieces | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Symbols | 🏴☠️ | 💀 | 💣 | 👑 | ♟️ |
At the beginning of the game, the pieces are arranged as shown in the diagram: for each side one flag, one skull, one cannon, one crown, and five pawns. The pieces are placed on the board in the following manner:
- The Flag is placed in the corner of the board that is closest to the player.
- The Skull is place on the corner of the board that is to the left of the flag.
- The Cannon is placed on the corner in front of the flag, and to the right of the skull
- The Crown is placed to the right corner of the flag, and to the right of the cannon.
- Pawns are place one rank in front of all the other pieces.
The flag should always be an opposite color of the tile it is on. A mnemonic to remember where the skull and crown go is "The right to rule" and "left to die" respectively.
Gameplay
The player controlling the white pieces is named "White," and the player controlling the black pieces is named "Black." White moves first, then the players alternate moves. Making a move is required; it is not legal to skip a move. Play continues until one player wins; a draw is not possible. If the game is stopped, the person who went last wins. In addition, if time control is being used, the player who runs out of time loses. Who plays white is determined by the players.
Movement
Basic moves
Each type of chess piece has its own method of movement. A piece can only move to an empty square unless it is capturing an enemy piece. Only the cannon can jump over pieces. The flag cannot be captured; it can be captured by moving to the same square as the flag and jumping over it. The captured piece is removed from the board, and the person who captured it gets to place a new piece of the same type on the board. The new piece can be placed anywhere on the board as long as it cannot capture the flag on the next turn, with the except for the cannon, which can only be captured by jumping pieces. If the piece is a pawn, it cannot be placed behind the starting line of pawns or the enemy's starting pawn line.
- The flag can not be moved.
- The skull moves one triangle that is the same color as the skull is on.
- The crown moves one triangle that is the opposite color of the triangle the crown is on.
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Cannons have two modes of movement:
- The cannon can move to the opposite triangle of the square it is on.
- The cannon can "hop" to other vacant triangles on any square that is adjacent to the cannon's square
- Pawn can move one diagonal in front of them, and capture either diagonally in front of them.
Returning
Returning consists of moving a piece to where your own flag is, or capturing a piece that has your flag. If the piece is still there on the next turn, the flag is returned to the starting position. If the piece is captured, then nothing happens.
En passant
When a pawn advances past the starting position of any pawn, the pawn it passed can capture it on the next turn as if it had not moved. This is called en passant.
Promotion
If a pawn captures a piece, it is promoted to the piece that was captured. The pawn is removed from the board, and the new piece is placed on the board in the same square as the pawn was.
Capturing
A piece can capture an enemy piece by moving to the same square as the enemy piece. The enemy piece is removed from the board, and the capturing piece is placed on the square the enemy piece was on. If the piece is a pawn, it can only capture diagonally in front of it.
The piece that is captured is added to the capture's stockpile, and can be used to place a new piece on the board of the same type. The new piece can be placed anywhere on the board, as long as it is not able to capture the flag.
If a piece goes to the same square as the enemy flag, the Enemy flag is controlled by that piece, and the piece is placed on the square the flag was on. The flag and the piece remain on the same square, until the piece is captured or returns to its own base, at which point the game is over. The flag moves with the pieces. If the piece is a pawn, the flag allows the pawn to move backwards, and capture pieces behind it.
Placing
On a turn, instead of placing a piece, a player can place a piece from their stockpile. The piece can be placed anywhere on the board, as long as it is not able to capture the flag on the next turn. If the piece is a pawn, it can not be placed behind the starting line of pawns, or the enemies starting pawn line.
End of the game
Capture of Flag
If a piece captures and brings back a flag, the game is over. The player who captured the flag wins.
Resigning
Either player can resign at any time. The player who resigned loses. A player may resign by saying "I resign" or writing "resign" or by tipping over their king.
Draw
There is no draw; if the win condition is not met, whoever went last wins.
Flag fall is a misnomer, as the game does not end when a player's flag falls, but when a player runs out of time. A game played under time control will end in a loss for a player who uses up all the time allotted on the player's clock, which is called flag-fall.