Diaballik

Diaballik is a game I've been playing and have yet to beat it. It's a strategy game that looks a big rugbyish in nature... actually it reminds me of a board game I have called Street Soccer.

In this game you play on a 7x7 grid and each end is lined with 7 players (a team). The middle player starts with the ball and your objective is to march down the field and get one of your players on your opponent's starting line with the ball. A turn consists of one or both of the following in order:

a) Move two spaces. This means one player can move two spaces or two players can move one space. A move is always orthogonal (up/down/left/right) and not diagonal.

b) The player with the ball passes the ball to another player within line of sight orthogonally or diagnoally. Players block line of site (including your own). [Edit: Actually your own players do NOT block your line of sight... only your opponents do]

It's simple really, but the AI is quite good and has had me on the ropes since starting to play this game. The game offers two modes of play (minor rules difference). My only concern is that perhaps once I do win I'll have figured out how to beat the AI and that will be that, but that's speculation. You do always have the option of playing against another human in hot seat mode. Games that combine sports with strategy are difficult to do well. There's nothing fancy about the graphics or sound here... it's just good, strategic game play. If you like games that require thought instead of reflexes give this a shot. And did I mention it's free?