Epaminondas

About this board game

Epaminondas is a pure abstract strategy game for two players, with an approximate playing time of 60 minutes. Released in 1975, it is played on a 14×12 checkered board as white faces black.

The objective is to move your pieces across the board and onto your opponent’s back rank—the row closest to them. To achieve this, players move connected groups of pieces called phalanxes and capture enemy pieces along the way.

In Epaminondas, a phalanx is a connected group of two or more pieces arranged in a straight line. The line may run either orthogonally or diagonally, making the formation central to the game’s movement and tactical character.

• Pure abstract game for 2 players
• 14×12 checkered board
• 28 black pieces and 28 white pieces
• Phalanx-based movement and captures
• Objective of reaching the opponent’s back rank

The game takes its name from Epaminondas, the Theban general associated with inventing the phalanx formation used to defeat the Spartans in 371 B.C. This historical inspiration gives the game’s connected lines of pieces a distinctive thematic identity while keeping the focus firmly on abstract strategy.

Sadly poorly known, Epaminondas is described as one of Bob Abbott’s masterpieces. It also reimplements Crossings, which is played on an 8×8 board, offering an expanded board setting for this classic abstract contest.