StackWorks — Damasca Help & Rules

Movement

• Soldiers: quiet move diagonally forward 1 square.
• Officers:
  • Classic: move diagonally 1 square (non-flying).
  • International: "fly" on quiet moves (slide diagonally any distance until blocked).

Captures (Mandatory + Multi-capture + Max-capture)

• Mandatory: if any capture exists, you must capture.
• Multi-capture: after a capture, you must continue with the same moving stack until no further captures exist.
• Max-capture rule: if multiple capture lines exist, only those with the most total captures are legal (choose among ties).
• Anti-loop: during a capture chain, you cannot jump the same square twice.

Stacking Capture (Lasca-style)

• When you jump a stack, you capture only the top piece of that stack.
• The captured piece is inserted at the bottom of the capturing stack.

Promotion

• Promotion happens at end-of-turn only.
• If a Soldier reaches the far rank during a capture chain, it does not promote mid-chain. If it reaches the far rank at any point in the chain, it promotes after the chain ends (even if it does not finish on the far rank).

• Damasca Classic: Officers move/capture like Lasca Officers (non-flying). Soldiers still capture forward/backward.
• Damasca International: Officers have flying movement/capture (Dama-style).

All other Damasca rules are shared between the two variants: mandatory capture, multi-capture chains, max-capture selection, stacking captures (top piece captured, inserted at the bottom), and end-of-turn promotion.

Key rule differences

• Board size: Damasca is played on an 8×8 board. Lasca Classic is traditionally played on a 7×7 board.
• Soldier captures: In Damasca, Soldiers can capture forward or backward (Dama-style). In Lasca Classic, Soldiers capture forward only.
• Officer power: In Damasca, Officers either fly (International) or move/capture non-flying (Classic). In Lasca Classic, Officers move/capture like English draughts kings/promoted pieces (non-flying).
• Capture choice: Damasca enforces the maximum-capture rule. Lasca Classic typically does not.
• Stacking: Both games keep captured pieces on the board as part of stacks. In Damasca, the captured top piece is inserted at the bottom of the capturing stack.

How it changes the feel

• More forced tactics earlier: Because Soldiers can capture backward, there are fewer “safe” retreats and more immediate counter-captures.
• Faster turns (especially midgame): Dama-style capture rules tend to create longer, more forced capture lines.
• Less simplification: Captures don’t remove material — they reshape stacks, so advantage often comes from who controls the top pieces, not simply how many pieces were taken.

Strategy tips (quick)

• Plan the full capture line: with max-capture, you often win by forcing the opponent into an unfavorable sequence.
• Protect stack tops: the top piece controls the stack; peeling or losing a top can swing control quickly.
• Watch backward threats: Soldiers can punish overextended pieces from behind.

The big difference

• Dama: Captured pieces are removed from the board (either immediately or after the capture sequence, depending on the chosen rules variant).
• Damasca: Captured pieces are not removed. Instead, the captured opponent piece becomes part of a stack under the capturing piece (Lasca-style). The captured piece is placed on the bottom of the capturing stack.

Movement

• Soldiers: move diagonally forward one square.
• Officers:
  • Classic: move diagonally 1 square (non-flying).
  • International: move diagonally any distance in any direction ("flying" officer).

Promotion

• A soldier promotes to an officer upon reaching the far edge.
• Promotion occurs at the end of a capture sequence (no mid-sequence officer powers). If a soldier reaches the far edge at any point during a capture chain, it promotes after the chain ends (even if it does not finish on the far edge).

Dead-play / infinite-loop end conditions (adjudicated)

• Threefold repetition: if the exact same position (including stack composition/order) occurs three times, the game ends immediately and is adjudicated.
• No-progress counter: if there is no capture, promotion, or Soldier advance for 40 plies, the game ends and is adjudicated.
• Officer-only fast path: if only Officers move (no Soldier moves at all) for 30 plies, the game ends and is adjudicated.
• The current counters are shown in the left panel: Status → Dead-play counters.

How captures work

• Soldiers: capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy to the empty square beyond (forward or backward).
• Officers:
  • Classic: capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy to the empty square beyond (non-flying).
  • International: capture by jumping diagonally over exactly one enemy piece and landing on any empty square beyond it (flying).
• Officer capture direction rule (multi-captures): during a capture chain, an Officer may continue capturing in the same diagonal direction (0°) or switch to the other diagonal direction (a ±90° turn), but may not reverse direction (180°) to capture back the way it came.

Choosing among captures

• When multiple capture lines exist, the game enforces the maximum-capture rule: you must choose a capture that can result in the greatest total number of captured pieces.