Brax (1890)

History

Brax was invented in America according to the The Boy's Modern Playmate authored by John George Wood in 1906 who also stated on page 805 that it was introduced to Britain by a certain "by Mr. J. H. Ayres, of 111 Aldersgate Street". Its exact date of invention is not known for sure, but in 1889 the game was advertised as "the new game of skill for young and old" in Scribner's magazine, Volume 6. Boards could be ordered for 1 $ and it was claimed that this "folding-board game of unusually attractive appearance" was patented in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. It would be great if somenone could find these old patents to get more information about its (yet unknown) inventor and early history.

Rules

The Board:
The game is played on a board of 64 squares (8X8). The lines of the board are made up of segments of blue and red and game play is on the lines and points, not the squares. There are numbered starting points along the board’s edges.

The pieces:
The game pieces are all identical in shape—seven red and seven blue. Each piece has one face plain and the other marked.

Forms of Play:
The basic game is for two players, but there are adaptations for three and four players.

The Objective:
Remove all enemy pieces from the board by capture

Start of Play:
Positions of pieces vary with the number of players.

Moving:
A player may move only one piece in a turn. Pieces are moved along the lines so that they come to rest at a point where two lines meet. A piece may be moved in any direction, but may not be moved onto a point occupied by a piece belonging to the same side or over a point occupied by any piece of either side. The distance a piece can be moved depends on the color of the line(s) on which it is moved:
a) a piece moving on a line of the opposing color may move only one space, ie from one point to the point immediately adjacent to it;
b) a piece moving on a line of its own color may move either one or two spaces as the player wishes. A piece moving two spaces may change direction in the course of that move, providing that it remains on a line of its own color and does not return to the point from which it started.

Capture:
A piece is captured when an opposing piece is moved to its point. A captured piece is immediately removed from the board.

“Braxing”
A piece is said to “threaten” an opposing piece when it could capture it in one move --ie when it is one space away, or two spaces if it can reach the opposing piece along a line of its own color. A player who threatens an opposing piece may call “brax” and so force his opponent to move that piece immediately. The call must be made immediately after the threatening player has moved one of his own pieces. If more than one piece is threatened when a player has called “brax,” then the opposing player has the choice of which threatened piece to move. The threatening player may not then call “brax” again until after he has moved one of his own pieces. When “brax” has been called, a threatened piece may move in any direction available to it. It may capture the piece threatening it, if that piece is within reach. When one player has only one piece and the other player only two pieces left on the board, both players lose the right to brax.

Brax for Two Players:

Pieces:
The game for two players is played with all 14 pieces, seven for each player. The pieces may be used with either face up.

Start of Play:
Each player starts with his pieces on the points numbered 1 to 7 on his side of the board.

Play:
The players decide who will make the first move and then take alternate turns.

Brax for Four Players:

In the game for four players, two players act as allies against the other two. No consultation is allowed between allies.

Pieces:
Six red and six blue pieces are used. In each pair, one player uses three pieces with the marked side face up and his ally uses three pieces of the same color with the plain side face up.

Start:
Each pair begins with the three plain pieces on points 1, 2, and 3, and the three marked pieces on points 8, 9, and 10.

Play:
The players decide which pair will have the first move. Turns are then in the order:
a) first pair, player with the plain pieces;
b) second pair, player with the plain pieces;
c) first pair, player with the marked pieces;
d) second pair, player with the marked pieces.

Retiring:
If a player’s three pieces are all captured, he retires from the game and the remaining players continue to play in their regular order.

Braxing:
A player may brax only those opposing pieces that can move immediately after his move, and he can be braxed only by a piece that moves immediately before his move.

Brax for Three Players

In the game for three palyers, two players act as allies against the third. No consultation is allowed between allies.

Pieces:
The single player has five pieces of one color. The allies use six pieces of the other color: one player uses three pieces with the plain side up and his ally uses three pieces with the marked side up.

Start:
The single player starts with his pieces on points 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The alliance player with the plain pieces positions them on points 1,2, and 3, and the player with the marked pieces positions them on points 8, 9, and 10.

Play:
The single player always plays first, followed by the alliance player with the plain pieces and the alliance player with the marked pieces. At his turn the single player moves two pieces. He may not, however, move the ame piece twice in one turn (and so may make only one move when he has only a single piece left on the board).

Retiring:
If an ally’s three pieces are all captured, he retires from the game.

Braxing:
Because the single player has two moves, he may be braxed by both players. If one of his pieces is braxed he must move that piece before moving another piece. If two of his pieces are braxed he must move both pieces in his turn, but in any order.

Brax Fox and Geese

This variant of brax makes an interesting game for two players.

Pieces:
One player uses one piece of one color (the “braxer”), and the other player uses five pieces of the other color (the “enemy”).

Start of play:
The braxer is placed on point 4 on one side of the board. The enemy pieces are placed on points 11, 1, 4, 7, and 12 on the other side of the board.

Objective:
The player with the enemy pieces attempts to move one of them across the board onto any one of points 11, 1, 4, 7, or 12. The player with the braxer winds the game if he captures all the enemy pieces before any one of them reaches one of the winning points.

Sequence of play:
The braxer moves first, and moves again every time an enemy piece has moved. The enemy pieces always move in the sequence: 11, 1, 4, 7, and 12 (the numbers being taken from the pieces starting points). For convenience, the enemy pieces can all begin the game with the same face up and each one can be reversed each time it is moved.

Moves:
The braxer moves in the usual way. The enemy can only move forward in a straight line, and must always move as far as the colors of the lines allow, ie two spaces when on their own lines, and one space on lines of the opposing color.

Capture:
When an enemy piece is captured, the remaining enemy pieces continue to move in their original sequence. The braxer continues to have one turn for every move by an enemy piece.

Braxing:
Although the enemy pieces can only move in a straight line forward, they threaten all points within their reach in any direction, as in the standard game. The braxer cannot move to, and must move from, any point that they threaten. When the braxer braxes an enemy piece, the braxed piece must retreat in a straight line as far as the color of the line allows. This does not count as an enemy turn and is followed by a normal move before the braxer’s next turn.