Moves
In play the pieces move forward diagonally, one square at a time, as in draughts. They capture by leaping an enemy piece into a vacant square beyond; but here is the important difference between Lasca and draughts which makes Lasca the more exciting game. A captured counter is not removed from the board, but is picked up under the attacker as a prisoner as he leaps over it:
Here the white soldier at a1 captures the black soldier at b2, producing a two-counter column at c3.
The column produced as the result of a capture is now moved as a single piece, in this case belonging to White.
Note that when a column is attacked, only the top man or commander is captured:
Thus in this position the black soldier on b4 can capture the column’s commander.
This has the result of both capturing a white soldier and releasing the black prisoner. In one move White has lost a piece and Black has gained one!
As play continues the number of pieces on the board becomes less and less as the men become stacked into larger columns, and no men are ever removed from the board. Incidentally, it is not possible to have an alternation of colours such as white-black-white in a column.