EIGHT BY EIGHT · EIGHT FAMILIAR PIECES
Learn the real Hikoro movements, one piece at a time.
EIGHT PIECES FROM FULL HIKORO
These names, wooden pieces, and movement patterns are the same ones you will meet on the full board. Both sides share the artwork; orientation identifies the owner.
THE HIKORO LEARNING TABLE
This table teaches eight real Hikoro piece movements with the original names and your wooden sprites: King Kraken, Kraken Prince, Squid, Fish, Big Eye Squid, One Pincer Crab, Dumbo Octopus, and Hermit Crab. The movement code is shared with the full game.
Both armies use the same wooden images. White pieces point toward the Black side and Black pieces point toward White; flipping the board rotates both armies appropriately, like shogi.
Choose a piece lesson. The featured White piece begins near the middle (the Kraken starts in its home palace), with a friendly blocker and three Black Fish as capture targets. Select either color, explore green movement dots and red capture rings, and make moves without turn restrictions. Undo freely or reset the lesson. Arrow keys navigate; Enter or Space selects; Escape clears selection.
Play a local teaching match against a second person or the Academy bot. Each side starts with sixteen pieces on an 8 × 8 square board. Both second ranks are Squid / Fish / Squid / Squid / Squid / Squid / Fish / Squid. The back ranks mirror each other around the Kraken and Prince. White moves first. Win by moving either royal onto a yellow sanctuary at A4, A5, H4, or H5, or by capturing both opposing royals. Capturing the Kraken alone does not end the game: the Prince can still win. There is no check or checkmate. Threefold repetition, no legal moves, or 1,000 plies draw. Start an online Academy table through the collection to teach someone remotely.
This is a movement-learning variant. Each Kraken starts inside a horizontal 3 × 2 palace: C1–E2 for White and C7–E8 for Black. It must stay there while its own Prince survives. Once that Prince is captured, the Kraken may leave. Either royal can reach either yellow sanctuary. Normal Squids shield the friendly piece directly behind them, as in full Hikoro. There is no promotion, bonus turn, or captured-piece drop. Fish and One Pincer Crab retain their starting movement after captures. In full Hikoro they can promote; this table keeps the eight starting patterns available for practice. The Prince keeps its full Hikoro movement: one forward step or one diagonal step in any direction.
Local progress saves automatically. Online games enforce turns and restore your private seat after refresh; they use teaching-match mode and disable undo. Online rooms are saved by the server when durable storage is enabled. Flip board changes only the view.
AT THE TABLE