Shisima is a two-player abstract strategy game

Abstract strategy game

An abstract strategy game is a strategy game, aiming to minimise luck, and without a theme. Almost all abstract strategy games will conform to the strictest definition of: a board or card game, in which there is no hidden information, no non-deterministic elements , in which two players or teams...

 from Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. It is related to tic-tac-toe

Tic-tac-toe

Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...

, but even more related to Tapatan

Tapatan

Tapatan is a two-player abstract strategy game from the Philippines. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tapatan is...

, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes

Nine Holes

- Goal :To create a 3 in-a-row of one's pieces either horizontally or vertically. Diagonals do not count.- Equipment :A 3 x 3 peg board is preferable. Each player has 3 pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects...

, Achi

Achi (game)

Achi is a two-player abstract strategy game from Ghana. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Tant Fant, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.There are two versions to...

, Tant Fant

Tant Fant

Tant Fant is a two-player abstract strategy game from India. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tant Fant uses the same...

, and Dara

Dara

-2011 uprising:The city of Daraa was the starting point of the 2011 uprising against the regime lead by Bashar Al-Assad. It all started when 15 children from the same family were arrested in early March 2011 for writing an anti regime slogan on the wall of their school. The children's ages ranged...

, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. Unlike those other games, Shisima uses an octagonal board.

Shisima means "body of water" in Kenyan. The pieces are called imbalavali which translates to "water bugs" as the pieces move quickly on the board as water bugs do on the surface of a lake.

Goal

To create a 3 in-a-row of one's pieces running through the middle of the octagonal board.

Equipment

An octagonal board is used. Lines connect each corner of the octagon to its opposite corner. The eight lines intersect at the middle of the octagonal board. There is a total of 9 intersection points or spaces for pieces to be played at.

Each player has 3 pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects will suffice.

The board is easily drawn on the ground or paper.

Rules and Game Play

1. Players decide what colors to play, and who will start first.

2. Each player's three pieces are initially next to each other in a row on the perimeter points of the octagon facing opposite the other player's three pieces which are also next to each other in a row on the perimeter of the octagon. This leaves three empty spaces left. One empty space is the middle of the board. The other two empty spaces separate the two rows of pieces on both sides.

3. Each piece can move one space at a time following the pattern on the board. Only one piece can be moved per turn.

4. Repeating a position three times is a draw.

Related Games

Tapatan

Tapatan

Tapatan is a two-player abstract strategy game from the Philippines. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Tant Fant, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tapatan is...

, Nine Holes

Nine Holes

- Goal :To create a 3 in-a-row of one's pieces either horizontally or vertically. Diagonals do not count.- Equipment :A 3 x 3 peg board is preferable. Each player has 3 pieces. One plays the black pieces, and the other plays the white pieces, however, any two colors or distinguishable objects...

, Three Men's Morris, Achi

Achi (game)

Achi is a two-player abstract strategy game from Ghana. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Tant Fant, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.There are two versions to...

, Tant Fant

Tant Fant

Tant Fant is a two-player abstract strategy game from India. It is related to tic-tac-toe, but even more related to Tapatan, Three Men's Morris, Nine Holes, Achi, Shisima, and Dara, because pieces are moved on the board to create the 3 in-a-row. It is an alignment game.Tant Fant uses the same...

, Dara (game)

Dara (game)

Dara is a two-player abstract strategy board game from Nigeria specifically played by the Dakarkari people. In the Haussa language, the game is called Doki which means horse. It is a clever alignment game related to tic-tac-toe. However, it is far more complex. The game was invented sometime in the...

, tic-tac-toe

Tic-tac-toe

Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...

External links

• http://www.kruzno.com/Shisima.html
• http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/rowgames/shisima.html
• http://www.isb.ac.th/ado/Content/Text/Content_4165/Math%20Games.pdf