Editing Alquerque

{{Short description|Board game}}
{{distinguish|Albuquerque, New Mexico{{!}}Albuquerque}}
{{Infobox game
 |title         = Alquerque
 |italic title  = no
 |image_link    = [[Image:Alquerque board at starting position 2.svg|240px]]
 |image_caption = Alquerque starting position
 |years         = 
 |genre         = {{ubl|[[Board game]]|[[Abstract strategy game]]}}
 |players       = 2
 |ages          =  
 |setup_time    = ~1 minute
 |playing_time  = 
 |random_chance = None
 |skills        = [[Strategy game|Strategy]], tactics
 |AKA           = Qirkat  
 |footnotes     = 
}}

'''Alquerque''' (also known as '''al-qirkat''' from {{langx|ar|القرقات}}) is a [[Abstract strategy game|strategy]] [[board game]] that is thought to have originated in the [[Middle East]]. It is considered to be the parent of draughts (US: [[checkers]]) and [[Fanorona]] and the diagonals of its grid are the predecessor of the checkering of the draughts board.{{fact|date=August 2020}}

==History==
[[Image:Alquerque in Libro de los juegos.jpg|thumb|left|An illustration of the game in ''Libro de los juegos'' ('book of games')]]

The game first appears in literature late in the 10th century when [[Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani]] mentioned qirkat in his 24-volume work ''[[Kitab al-Aghani]]'' ("Book of Songs"). This work, however, made no direct mention of the rules of the game, most likely because it is [[poetry]] and they would have been common knowledge in the context the book originated in. 

In ''[[Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations]]'', [[Robert Charles Bell|R. C. Bell]] writes that "when the Moors invaded Spain they took El-quirkat with them".<ref name="Bell vol. 1">{{cite book |last=Bell |first=R. C. |authorlink=Robert Charles Bell |title=Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, volume 1 |year=1979 |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |location=[[New York City]] |isbn=0-486-23855-5<!-- Volumes 1 and 2 are bound in the same book and thus have the same ISBN. --> |pages=47–48 }}</ref> Rules are included in ''[[Libro de los juegos]]'' ("Book of games") commissioned by [[Alfonso X of Castile]] in the 13th century.

[[Spain|Spanish]] [[settlers]] in [[New Mexico]] introduced a four-player variant of alquerque to the [[Zuni people|Zuni]].
{{clear}}

==Rules==
[[image:Empty Alquerque board.svg|thumb|An empty abstract alquerque board]]
[[image:Alquerque game board with algebraic notation.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.75|This board graphic displays Moorish design elements relating to the origin of Alquerque. The [[Algebraic notation (chess)|algebraic notation]] facilitates move annotation and gameplay discussion.]]

Before starting, each player places their twelve pieces in the two rows closest to them and in the two rightmost spaces in the center row. The game is played in turns, with one player taking white and the other black.

* A piece can move from its point to any empty adjacent point that is connected by a line.
* A piece can jump over an opposing piece and remove it from the game, if that opposing piece is adjacent and the point beyond it is empty.
* Multiple capturing jumps are permitted, and indeed compulsory if possible.
* If a capture is possible it must be made, or else the piece is removed (or huffed).

The goal of the game is to eliminate the opponent's pieces.

===Additional rules===
[[Robert Charles Bell|R. C. Bell]] developed additional rules, saying those given by Alfonso X, in his opinion, "are not sufficient to play a game".<ref name="Bell vol. 1" />
These extra rules are:
* A piece cannot move backward (e.g., a piece in the middle of an empty board would have five available moves).
* No piece can return to a point it has previously occupied.
* Once a piece has reached the opponent's back row it can only move to capture opposing pieces.
* The game is won when either:
** The opponent has lost all of their pieces.
** None of the opponent's pieces are able to move.

Bell also includes a scoring system for rating games.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Adugo]]''
* ''[[Bagh bandi]]''
* ''[[Bagh-chal]]''
* ''[[Buga-shadara]]''
* [[English draughts]]
* ''[[Fetaix]]''
* ''[[Kharbaga]]''
* ''[[Komikan]]''
* ''[[Kotu Ellima]]''
* ''Meurimueng-rimueng peuet ploh'', [[tiger game played with forty]]
* ''[[Peralikatuma]]''
* ''[[Permainan-Tabal]]''
* ''[[Rimau]]''
* ''[[Sher-bakar]]''
* [[Sixteen soldiers]]
* ''[[Zamma]]''
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Alquerque}}
*[http://eukreukla.codeplex.com/ An open-source Microsoft C# version of Alquerque] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308101846/http://eukreukla.codeplex.com/ |date=2012-03-08 }}
*[https://github.com/OMerkel/Alquerque Adfree Android APK version of Alquerque, minimum Android 4.4.2 (API-19)]
*[https://omerkel.github.io/Alquerque/html5/src An open-source browser HTML5/Javascript version Alquerque], human vs AI in each combination, game rules and game options. ''Source: https://github.com/OMerkel/Alquerque''
*{{bgg|11464|Alquerque}} - [http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/84230 Alquerque rules with some sample situations discussed]

[[Category:Abstract strategy games]]
[[Category:Traditional board games]]
[[Category:History of board games]]
[[Category:Draughts variants]]
[[Category:Arab inventions]]
[[Category:Historical games]]