The Field of Influence

Rules of this prototype

Marked items are working choices made to get a playable first version. Each one is a question for playtesting.

1. On your turn, make one move: transform an arrangement, or build.
2. To transform, select a rectangle by tapping two opposite corners. It may hold your buildings and empty squares, never your opponent’s. Then play one of the four cards. Empty squares move with the arrangement.
3. ⍉ and ⍴ can change the shape of the arrangement. The new shape grows from the same top-left corner and may only spread onto empty squares. choice
4. ⍴ reads the squares row by row, left to right, and lays them out again in the same order in the new shape. choice
5. A move must actually move a building. choice
6. To build, place a house on an empty square next to one of your buildings under your influence. Once per game you may build a second school instead. choice
7. Influence flows from each school along chains of touching houses, left, right, up and down, through anyone’s houses. Each house follows the school that reaches it in the fewest steps. Equal steps make it contested. A house no school reaches has no influence. choice
8. An empty square touching influenced buildings of only one player also falls under that player’s influence. choice
9. Your score is the number of squares under your influence. After the last round, the higher score wins.