Gameplay

On your turn, you must perform these two actions in order:

1. **Play a Card:** Choose one card from your hand and place it face-up on your side of any Stone that doesn't yet have three cards on your side. Once a card is placed, it cannot be moved.
2. **Draw a Card:** Draw the top card of the deck to replenish your hand. If the deck is empty, you continue playing without drawing cards.

Claiming a Stone

• After you play a card but **before** you draw a new one, you may claim one or more Stones.
• To claim a Stone, your three-card combination (formation) on that Stone must be stronger than your opponent's.
• Generally, a Stone can only be claimed once a player has placed all three of their cards for that Stone.
• You can, however, claim a Stone even if your opponent has not yet played all three cards, but only if you can **prove** they cannot possibly form a stronger combination. This proof must be based only on cards already played on the table (your own hand does not count as proof).
• When you successfully claim a Stone, move it to your side of the border. No more cards may be played on this Stone.

Card Formations

Combinations of cards are called formations. They are ranked from strongest to weakest:

1. **Color-Run:** Three cards of the same color with consecutive strengths (e.g., a red 7, red 8, and red 9).
2. **Three of a Kind:** Three cards of the same strength (e.g., a 4, a 4, and a 4).
3. **Color:** Three cards of the same color (e.g., three green cards).
4. **Run:** Three cards with consecutive strengths of any color (e.g., a blue 5, a red 6, and a yellow 7).
5. **Sum:** Any other combination of three cards.

Tie-Breakers

• If two competing formations are of the same type (e.g., both are a "Color"), the one with the **highest total strength** (the sum of the card values) wins.
• If the strength totals are also tied, the player who played their third card to the Stone **first** wins the Stone.

End of the Game & Scoring

The game ends immediately when a player achieves either of the following victory conditions:

• Controls *three adjacent Stones*.
• Controls a total of *five Stones* anywhere along the border.

The first player to achieve one of these conditions wins the game.

For multi-round play:

• The winner receives **5 victory points**.
• The opponent receives **1 victory point for each Stone** they control.