Activation Petteia

This game was created for a design contest as documented here: http://boardgamegeek.com/article/13809424#13809424 The game is played on an uncheckered board of 8 rows and 12 files; the game does scale though to boards of smaller size. Each player starts the game (sitting across the board from one another facing a long side of the board) with 12 stones placed in the nearest row, 10 identical pieces starting one each on all spaces except the two corners each of which is occupied by an activator. A supply of neutral colored stones and of additional pieces in the player's own color (designated white and black) are also needed. All stones move like rooks in chess, i.e., vertically or horizontally in an unobstructed line. The object is to create a situation where one has at least twice as many pieces on the board as one's opponent or where the opponent has no legal move. Draws are not possible. What's notable here is the use of two activator pieces based on an a notion created by designer Joe Joyce, as per the contest mentioned above. This allows captured pieces to be removed from play, converted to immobile neutral pieces or replaced by a piece of one's own color, depending on how they are captured.