Co Nhao — a beginner's guide (English)

Co Nhao is a Vietnamese folk game on a 5×5 board (Alquerque-style). Each side has 10 discs; the middle row starts empty. Green (bottom side) moves first. Win by capturing every enemy piece or leaving your opponent with no legal move.

Movement: move one piece along a drawn line to an adjacent empty intersection.

Captures — the leap: if an enemy piece sits adjacent to yours and the point directly beyond it (same line) is empty, you may leap over it to that empty point — the enemy is removed.

Chains: after a leap you may keep leaping with the same piece, and you may change direction freely after each jump. Captures are NOT mandatory — you may stop after any jump, even when more jumps are available. Watch where you land: a piece that just jumped can be leapt back over on the next turn.

Special draw: when only one piece per side remains (1v1), the game is an immediate draw.

Tip: before starting a chain, count your landing points — a spectacular 3-capture chain that lands surrounded by the enemy is just a donation. Because captures are optional, sometimes not jumping keeps a stronger position than a flashy chain.

Play free at conhao.synerworlds.com — vs-computer with a 12-level ladder, daily puzzles, and rooms to challenge friends. No install needed.

Related guides

• Co Ganh — a beginner's guide — Vietnam's "carry and trap" folk game on a 5×5 board.
• O An Quan — a beginner's guide — the beloved stone-sowing game of Vietnamese childhood.

Read next: fix your mistakes

• Common Cờ Nhào mistakes: parity blindness, self-blocking, and forgetting the reply chain
• Cờ Gánh endgames: winning by blockade, liberty races, and the two faces of the fortress