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Martian Frisby
by Dan Efran
Overview
Martian Frisby is a board game for two players. It is played using nestable gamepieces, a chessboard, and dice. A relatively simple game, it is ideal for young or inebriated gamers, or for times when the conversation is more important than thegame.Like Mrs. Frisby, you must move your nest to safety. And like a Martian, youmust obey the Laws of the Pyramids.You start with six pieces nested at one end of a chessboard. Roll the dice, andtry to move all your pieces to the other end of the board. Along the way, you maynest pieces, but you may never stack them.
Equipment Needed
●
Icehouse: the Martian Chess Set
●
A chessboard
●
Two six-sided dice
Setup
The game is played on a two-by-eight grid, such as two adjacentcolumns on a chessboard. The players sit at opposite ends (shortsides) of the board.Each player chooses a color of Icehouse pieces, andnests six pieces on the two squares at her end of theboard: a one-pointer under a two-pointer under athree-pointer on each end square.Choose a player to go first. Players alternate turns. (The loser of each gamegoes first in the next game.
Martian Frisby is an Icehouse game (http://www.wunderland.com/icehouse
 
) – © 1999-2000 by Daniel S. Efran
 
Turn Actions
On your turn, roll both dice. Use each die to move one of your pieces by theamount indicated. You may move the same piece with both dice, or a differentpiece with each, and you may use the dice in either order, but you
must useboth
dice. If you cannot make both moves, you must pass, making neither.(However, you
may not pass
if any legal pair of moves is available, Even if youdon’t like them.) You
may not
use your second move to “undo” your first move,leaving the board unchanged.(Note: you may move any one or two of your pieces, as long as both moves arelegal. Each of the two moves in your turn must be legal on its own: you cannotmake an illegal move with one die, then “fix” it with the other die. On the other hand, your first move may make your second one possible.)You may move a piece either forwards or backwards along its column. You maynot change the direction of movement within one move; you must use the entirevalue of the die in one direction. (You may, however, make two moves in thesame turn with the same piece in opposite directions, as long as they are notequal in length.) You may not move a piece between columns. A move thatwould take a piece beyond the board is illegal.
Laws of the Pyramids
●
Open Field: You may move a piece onto an empty square.
●
Nesting: You may move a piece onto a
smaller 
piece of 
any
color.
●
No Stacking: You may
not
move a piece onto a
same-size or larger 
piece.
●
Trapped Pieces: You may not move a piece which is under another piece. (If you can’t touch it, you can’t move it.) Thus, a smaller piece can be temporarily“trapped” by a larger piece of either color, unable to move until the larger piecemoves away.
Goal
Your goal is to reassemble your starting configuration of two nests at the far sideof the board. As soon as your six pieces are nested on the two squares at the far end of the board, whether your turn is over or not, you win.You must land on the goal squares (and all squares) on an exact roll. Pieces onthe goal squares are
not
“locked” or “safe” or special in any way. For example, if your only legal pair of moves includes un-nesting pieces from a goal square, youmust do so. (Every journey includes some setbacks.)
Martian Frisby is an Icehouse game (http://www.wunderland.com/icehouse
 
) – © 1999-2000 by Daniel S. Efran
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