Board Setup

16 Musashi is a two-player game played on a square connected to an isosceles triangle called a stable (Ushibeya/Umagoya/Secchin (牛部屋/馬小屋/雪隠)) The square and triangle contain intersecting horizontal and vertical straight lines. This grid is subdivided into 4 quadrants which have diagonal lines running from corner-to-corner. The triangle's lines are the same as the bottom half of the square.

One player, called the parent (Musashi), controls one piece that is initially placed on the center of the square (This game piece is typically larger than the children). The other player controls 16 children (Ten) pieces that are placed along the edges of the square.

Movement

The Musashi starts the game by moving along the lines to the next intersection on the board. The Tens do the same, alternating turns with the Musashi.

The Musashi's goal is to move between two Tens connected by straight lines to capture them. This capture only occurs when the Musashi moves, and not when a Ten moves so that the two Tens are on either side of the Musashi.

Win Conditions

Ten

The Tens have two win conditions:

1. Surround the Musashi so that they cannot move.
2. Force the Musashi to move to the stable.

Musashi

Musashi wins by capturing enough Tens that the remaining will be unable to surround him.