1. Objective
Two players fight for control on a 7×7 board. Blue and Red each start with one tile and one pawn. The match ends when no neutral tiles remain. Whoever controls more tiles wins.
2. Normal move
Each turn, move your pawn exactly one tile horizontally or vertically. Diagonal moves are not allowed. You may move through your own territory and enter neutral or unoccupied enemy tiles.
3. Direct capture
Enter a neutral tile and it becomes your territory. Enter an enemy tile and it immediately changes to your color. The same applies to your opponent.
4. Jumping over the opponent
If the opposing pawn is directly next to you horizontally or vertically, you may jump over it onto the tile immediately behind it, provided that tile is still on the board. The landing tile may be neutral, yours or your opponent’s.
5. No immediate backtracking
A player may not immediately move back to the tile they left on their previous move as long as another legal move exists. If moving back is the only legal option, it remains allowed.
6. Surrounding areas
The key mechanic: a connected area that is completely surrounded by your territory and has no open path to the edge of the board is captured. Both neutral and enemy tiles inside change to your color.
The area containing the opposing pawn is not automatically captured by this area-capture rule.
7. End of the game
At the regular end of a match, play stops immediately when the last neutral tile is claimed. There is no extra final round. All blue and red tiles are counted; the higher total wins. The anti-stall rules below can end a Bot Fight earlier.