Nam-nam literally meaning to roam is indicative of the multi-lap nature of a move. Unlike single lap variants where dropping one’s last piece designates the end of a move. With multi-lap variants such as Nam-nam if one’s last piece drops in a house with playing pieces in it, the move continues until the last piece lands in an empty house or makes a four on the opponent’s side.
At the start of the game the 2 row by 6 column board is set out with four playing pieces in each of the twelve houses, making a total of 48 pieces.
The players will decide among themselves who is to start. For subsequent games players will alternate who is to start.
The six houses in the row closest to the player is their territory from which moves can be initiated. The player decides which house to move from. To move all the playing pieces in a house are emptied. The playing pieces are placed one at a time in the following houses in an anti-clockwise directions. A move ends once last piece lands in an empty house or makes a four on the opponents side.
Captures are made whenever four is made in any of the players houses. By placing one’s last playing piece in a house on the opponents territory to make four playing pieces. These are then removed from the board.
There are two ways of ending the round (game). Before the game commences the players must decide which end game rule is to apply. When there are eight seeds left in play, since it is impossible to play for the last four seeds. The player who captures the penultimate set of four seeds, also gains the last set of four on the board, this then ends the round. The winner of the first round is the one who has captured the most seeds. The other way of ending the game is whoever played first takes the last four seed.
Upon completion of the first round each player places the seeds they have won back in the houses on their territory four seeds in each house. If each is able to fill the same number of houses then it is a draw. However if one player is able to fill more houses than that which they started with then those houses filled, on the opponents side, from right to left, now become part of their territory in the next round. The winner of each round is the one with the most territory. This capturing of territory can go on for quite a while as lost territory can always be reclaimed in subsequent rounds.
If one makes a two or three with ones last playing pieces and the house or houses preceding the captured house on the opponent’s side also have twos, threes or any combination of them, in an unbroken sequence one captures these playing pieces as well. So long as there are no houses with less than two or more than three playing pieces, in-between them. Playing pieces from a maximum of five houses can be captured in this way. Beyond five houses one forfeits the capture, as this would leave the opponent without any playing pieces to play with.
The game ends when one persons territory is completely captured, all six houses.
Players can touch the playing pieces on their side to count if desired. Once a move is initiated, by placing a seed in the next house, reversal is not allowed.
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