Games
YINSH
A game of change
YINSH (YINSH) is game number 6 (we won’t dig into the numbering quirks) in the Project GIPF series by the great maestro of abstract board games — Kris Burm. It was released in 2003 and currently holds a solid 4th place in the BGG abstract ranking, making it the most popular game in Project GIPF.
Top Cap
Simple is not a flaw
I hesitated a long time before writing about this game — next to heavyweights like TZAAR or DVONN it looks almost too simple. Honestly, even the brisk tactics of Cat-a-comb can feel extremely complex beside it. Yet Top Cap fits this blog’s theme perfectly: a pure deterministic abstract with perfect information. Extreme simplicity here is not a weakness — it is the main virtue.
DVONN
A game of mobility
Imagine a battlefield that literally falls away underfoot. In DVONN — Fire in the legendary Project GIPF — you can lose a whole army to one opponent move. You need not grind the enemy down piece by piece: cut them off from the red heat sources with a precise positional strike, and huge stacks die instantly and leave the board forever.
Cat-a-comb
Speed tactics in a tin can
Cat-a-Comb proves even a pocket abstract can run deep: area control, opening tempo, fights over three-high towers, and sharp tactical traps.
