Introduction:

Les (from Middle English: -les, meaning "without, empty, -less") is a board game for two players: Black and White. It is played at the intersections (points) of an initially empty hexagonal board of triangles. The recommended board size is 9 points per side, but smaller boards can be used for shorter games. Each player has access to a sufficient supply of stones of his own color.

Definitions:

– A hole is one or more empty points connected to each other. You own a hole if all the stones connected to it are your color and when you build them you are said to be digging them.
– The size of a hole is the number of empty points it contains.

Turns:

Black plays first, then turns alternate. On your turn, you perform these actions in the following order:

1. Place a stone of your color on an empty point adjacent to friendly and enemy stones simultaneously.
2. Place a stone of your color on an empty point not adjacent to any stone.

When neither player can take the second action because the board is filling up, both players take only the first action.

End of the game:

The game ends when a player runs out of moves, the player winning under the following conditions in order of importance:

1. The player with the most holes made up of stones of their assigned color wins.
2. In case of a tie, the player with the biggest hole wins, the next biggest holes being used for the tiebreaker.
3. In case of a tie in the size of the holes, the player whose biggest hole contains the most stones connected to him wins, the next biggest holes with the most stones connected to him are used for the tiebreaker.

If neither player managed to form a hole, it is a tie (it is very unlikely that any player will form at least one).

To keep the game fair, before play begins, the first player sets four starting stones, one black adjacent to a white, and one black one point away from a white. The second player chooses the sides.

-description from designer