Through and Through

Through and Through is a common board game played from an early age. It mixes strategic thinking, luck, and deception into an easy to pick up and entertaining experience.

Objective

The objective of Through & Through is to navigate your player piece to the center of the outer ring of the game board while avoiding the black stone known as "the chaser."

Components

• Game board with concentric circles and connecting paths.
• Wooden player pieces (shaped like people) for each player.
• Small wooden pillars with spirals called "anchors."
• A single black stone known as "the chaser."
• Dice

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center of the playing area.
2. Choose a random outer ring as the destination for all players. Mark this destination on the board.
3. Each player selects a wooden player piece and places it at the starting position on the innermost circle of the board.
4. Place the black stone, "the chaser," on the starting position in the innermost circle.
5. Scatter the wooden pillars (anchors) randomly across the board on designated spaces.
6. All players must say "Through and Through we travel to find, with fire to drive, and light to blind."

Gameplay

Players take turns in clockwise order. On a player's turn, they roll the dice to determine how many spaces their player piece can move. The dice roll can be between 1 and 6. Players may choose to move their player piece in any direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) along the paths on the board, based on the number rolled on the dice. Players must navigate through the concentric circles and connecting paths to reach the outer ring, where the destination is located. Players can choose to collect the wooden pillars (anchors) by landing on the same space as an anchor. Collected anchors can be used later as obstacles or to block the chaser. If a player's piece lands on the same space as "the chaser," they are immediately captured and out of the game. The chaser always moves toward the nearest player piece on the board at the end of each player's turn.

Winning the Game

The first player to successfully navigate their player piece to the center of the outer ring, reaching the randomly selected destination, wins the game.

Optional Rules

Players can strategically place the collected wooden pillars (anchors) on the board to hinder the chaser or other players' progress. The game can have a time limit, and if no player reaches the destination by the end of the time limit, the player closest to the outer ring wins. Additional obstacles or challenges can be introduced on the board to make the game more complex, such as one-way paths, teleportation circles, or traps.