Fox and Geese

It is now believed that this game originally came from Iceland because it was first mentioned there in about 1300 but it became very popular in fifteenth century Europe.

The Rules of the Game

One player has one counter (the fox) and the other player has thirteen counters (the geese).

Arrange the geese as shown in the diagram below. The fox can go on any vacant spot.

The fox and geese can move along a line in any direction but can only move to the next free place.

The fox can take a goose by jumping over a goose on to a vacant point (just like in draughts or checkers). Two or more geese can be removed in a series of short leaps (again like draughts or checkers).

The geese cannot jump over the fox.

The player moving the geese will win if he/she can prevent the fox from moving.

The player moving the fox wins when he/she reduces the number of geese by so much that it is impossible to stop the fox from moving.

Click HERE to download a board and pieces which you can cut out and play.