Focus (board game)

Focus is an abstract strategy board game, designed by Sid Sackson and first published in 1963 by Kosmos. The game has been re-published many times since, sometimes under the titles Domination or Dominio. Focus won the 1981 Spiel des Jahres and Essen Feather awards. The game appears in Sackson's A Gamut of Games in the section New Battles on an Old Battlefield.

Focus

Designers	Sid Sackson
Publishers	Kosmos Milton Bradley Parker Brothers
Publication	1963; 62 years ago (1963)
Players	2–4
Playing time	45'
Skills	Strategy

Gameplay

Starting positions

Two to four players move stacks of one to five pieces around a checkerboard with the three squares in each corner removed, thus forming a 6×6 board with 1×4 extensions on each side. Stacks may move as many spaces as there are pieces in the stack. Players may only move a stack if the topmost piece in the stack is one of their pieces. When a stack lands on another stack, the two stacks merge; if the new stack contains more than five pieces, then pieces are removed from the bottom to bring it down to five. If a player's own piece is removed, they are kept and may be placed on the board later in lieu of moving a stack. If an opponent's piece is removed, it is captured. The last player who is able to move a stack wins.

Reception

Games included the game as Domination in their "Top 100 Games of 1982", noting that while it does include short versions for 3-4 players, "the two-player game has the most depth".^[1]

Reviews

• Family Games: The 100 Best^[2]

See also

• Death Stacks