THE POWER OF TWO (2 players)
This is a beautiful game with high-quality components and engrossing strategic angles. Lines crisscross a wooden board, forming 64 intersections on which disks are played. Players vie to get all 16 pieces of their color on the board, or to render the opponent unable to move. Start by placing two disks of each color on the corners. You move by sliding one of your disks along an unblocked line and stoppping at a free intersection. If your disk is then adjacent to another, you must enter a reserve disk on an intersection so that it forms a triangle with those two. A friendly adjacent disk is turned over (to "age" it), or removed from the board if it has already been aged. In a typical display of generosity, Kadon includes a second game in which contestants have unequal but complementary powers. Two thumbs up for this one! — RHK (10/99) [Date refers to first review shown below.]

THE POWER OF TWO
Players:  2     Time:  16 mins

When does the power of two make three? Read on...

This game's handsome wooden board is crisscrossed with lines to form 64 (2 to the 6th power) intersections. Each player has 16 (2 to the 4th power) cylindrical pieces, two (2 to the first power) of which begin on the board. [Note: an alternate start position has four (2 squared) pieces on the board.] A turn starts when a player moves a board piece any number of points along an unobstructed line. If a piece lands adjacent to a unit, regardless of the unit's ownership, a reserve is introduced to form a triangle with the moved piece and its neighbor. "Starting a family" is arduous work, so friendly pieces that introduce a newcomer are turned over to show that they have aged; a piece that ages a second time is returned to the reserve. A move is illegal if a reserve cannot be entered for each adjacency. You win by getting all your pieces on board or by leaving your opponent without a legal move.

This is a subtle tango for two, requiring fancy footwork as you dance across the board and watch your offspring come and go. There is no point in introducing several children if they'll be unable to flourish several turns later.

In a move that is typical of Kadon's policy of giving buyers their money's worth, the company suggests rules for several variations as well as for another delightful game where both sides begin with unequal by complementary powers. — J.J. McC. and Robin H. King