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This week's LabZone activity
Sept. 28, 2005
Pong Hau K'i from Korea & China
Pong Hau K'i (Pong-haw-kee) is a game from China. In Korea they call the game Ou-moul-ko-no, or Kono. As you can see, the board is very simple. Two people play on the five points where the lines intersect. Each player tries to block the other from moving.
Materials
- Sheet of construction paper
- Pen or marker
- Ruler
- 2 counters for each player, of 2 different kinds (beans, buttons, or coins)
Drawing the Game Board
Draw two intersecting right triangles on the sheet of paper, as shown in the diagram below (left). Make the board large enough so that there is lots of room to move the counters.
Playing the Game
The game begins with the counters placed on the board, as shown in the diagram above (right). One player's counters are on the two lower points and the other player's counters are on the two upper points.
Player One moves one of his or her counters onto the center point. Then Player Two moves one of his or her counters onto the empty space. The players continue, with each player taking a turn to move a counter.
The game ends when one player wins by blocking the other player from moving. If the same set of moves is repeated three times, the game ends in a draw—no winner and no loser.
Things to Think About
Is it better to go first or second? How must you place your counters in order to block the other player?
Is it possible to play the game on this board with three counters for each player? Explain.
Try to design a board that will allow each player to use three counters and at the same time follow the rules for Pong Hau K'i.
Activity excerpted by permission of Independent Publishers Group from Math Games and Activities from around the World by Claudia Zaslavsky. Published by Chicago Review Press, distributed by Independent Publishers Group (www.ipgbook.com). Copyright © 1998 by Claudia Zaslavsky.
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