a strategy board game of territorial conquest for two to four players . each player commands an army of twenty - four pieces on a playing board divided into five regions called territories . the pieces rest on the intersections of lines on the board called points . in each territory there exists a special board point referred to as a base . the pieces in the game at all times have a specific direction that they face on the game board . the facing of the piece determines its vulnerability to capture by another piece . in addition to facing , different types of playing pieces are assigned different attributes such as movement number , attack number and blocking faces which affect the utility of each piece in game situations . a notation system allows text play of the game . electronic embodiments allow game play on electronic devices .