rules.txt

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The octagonal playing area consists of a 15 by 15 square board from which a triangle of 5 squares 
in each corner has been removed. The Thudstone is placed on the centre square of the board, where 
it remains for the entire game and may not be moved onto or through. The eight trolls are placed 
onto the eight squares adjacent to the Thudstone and the thirty-two dwarfs are placed so as to 
occupy all the perimeter spaces except for the four in the same horizontal or vertical line as 
the Thudstone. One player takes control of the dwarfs, the other controls the trolls. The dwarfs 
move first.

On the dwarfs' turn, they may either move or hurl one dwarf:

Move: any one dwarf is moved like a chess queen, any number of squares in any orthogonal or 
diagonal direction, but not onto or through any other piece, whether Thudstone, dwarf, or troll; 

or

Hurl: anywhere there is a straight (orthogonal or diagonal) line of adjacent dwarfs on the board, 
they may hurl the front dwarf in the direction continuing the line, as long as the space between 
the lead dwarf and the troll is less than the number of dwarfs in the line. This is different from 
a normal move in that the dwarf is permitted to land on a square containing a troll, in which case 
the troll is removed from the board and the dwarf takes his place. This may only be done if the 
endmost dwarf can land on a troll by moving in the direction of the line at most as many spaces 
as there are dwarfs in the line. Since a single dwarf is a line of one in any direction, a dwarf 
may always move one space to capture a troll on an immediately adjacent square.

On the trolls' turn, they may either move or shove one troll:

Move: one troll is moved like a chess king, one square in any orthogonal or diagonal direction onto 
an empty square. After the troll has been moved, only a single dwarf on the eight squares adjacent 
to the moved troll may optionally [2] be immediately captured and removed from the board, at the 
troll player's discretion; 

or

Shove: anywhere there is a straight (orthogonal or diagonal) line of adjacent trolls on the board, 
they may shove the endmost troll in the direction continuing the line, up to as many spaces as there 
are trolls in the line. As in a normal move, the troll may not land on an occupied square, and any 
(all) dwarfs in the eight squares adjacent to its final position may immediately be captured. Trolls 
may only make a shove if by doing so they capture at least one dwarf.

The battle is over when both players agree that no more captures can be made by continuing to play, 
or when one player has no more valid moves to make. At this point the players count score: the dwarfs 
score 1 point for each surviving dwarf, and the trolls score 4 for each remaining troll, with the 
difference being the 'final' score. The players should then swap sides to play another round, and the 
sum of their final scores for the two battles determines the overall victor.