Comments on: Fox and Geese: A Traditional Abstract Strategy Game

By: CJ Phaedrus

CJ Phaedrus — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 16:01:58 +0000

In reply to Jennie. You can by a square or round dowel at hardware box stores made of balsa wood which can be cut to size and painted to taste.

By: NatHK

NatHK — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 01:45:46 +0000

I've been playing these strategy games with my class and they love them! There's a lot of thinking going on and we're all highly engaged. We particularly love the music in the Fox and Geese video. Can I ask where this is from?

By: Jeanna

Jeanna — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 17:49:25 +0000

My Mamaw taught me to play this game when I was small. She drew the board on a piece of paper and used buttons from her sewing kit for the geese and fox. Think of it kind of like checkers in the way that the geese can only move forward and the fox (like a kinged checker) can move both ways. The fox is the only one that can jump over and take geese off the board. The geese have first move and number as their advantage. The fox has jumping and moving in both directions as his.

By: Bonus Dad

Bonus Dad — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 01:50:20 +0000

Assuming that you are using the game instructions as presented through several different sources, what do you do when the geese run out of places to go?

By: Erica

Erica — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:44:12 +0000

In reply to WH. You are confusing the game instructions with my suggested variations.

By: WH

WH — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 09:07:18 +0000

Looking at the instructions is very confusing. In one spot you say the Geese can ONLY move one way, then the next line you say the opposite. Then at the very end you say NO ONE can go diagonal. Please update the rules when it comes to the movements.

The geese can only move diagonally and forwards, not sideways or backwards *********

The geese can move in any direction (including backwards). *****

So which is it..can they or can they not go backwards???

The fox must jump a goose if he has the opportunity. If he does not, a captured goose is put back into play, if possible.
The geese move first.
The fox can begin from any starting point.

Neither the fox, nor the geese can move diagonally. It might help to draw a new board without the diagonal lines.

Earlier you state the geese can go ANY DIRECTION and here you say no one can go diagonally

By: Paige

Paige — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:04:28 +0000

We used a die for the fox and dry black beans for the geese, popcorn kernels could work too.

By: Erica

Erica — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 12:40:01 +0000

In reply to Jennie.

Hi Jennie, They are little wooden cubes that I got at a craft store and painted. Similar to these: http://amzn.to/2l0pwXO I hope that helps!

By: Jennie

Jennie — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 00:59:12 +0000

Where do you get your little game pieces?

By: Erica

Erica — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 13:11:32 +0000

In reply to Lisa. Hi Lisa, I am glad you said this because this was my experience and I thought I was doing something wrong, too, because all the information I read about the game said that the geese have the advantage if they play a perfect game. That just seemed wrong to me. However, I will say, that my 12 yr old beat me as the geese twice so I figured that perhaps this was due to my lack of patience and analytical strategy which he has 100x more of than me! So after reading your comment I took a look again at some of the variations that are out there. (It's an old game which means it has not always been played the same way.) I'm going to add these to the list above of rule changes: 1. Don't use the diagonal lines. (This is the most intriguing to me! A few versions of the board have only straight lines.) 2. Let the geese move backward. I haven't actually seen this, but it might level the playing field. Let me know if you decide to give the game another go and if either of these ideas helped.