Basic Rules

Choose a color by clicking on the silver or gold ball to start the game. Your opponent is the computer. The object of the game is to get all your eight marbles to the other end of the board as quickly as possible. The first player to do so wins.

Whose turn is it?

After your first move, the computer decides whose move it is. When the YALi board tips over to your side, it's your move. You can keep on moving until the board tips back over to the computer's side. If the board stays level during a move, the player who just moved can make another move.

Allowable moves

You can move a marble one space or jump over another marble into a space (you can jump over as many marbles as you wish as long as you jump over one marble at a time and into a space each time). You can only move straight forward, or diagonally forwards, but not backwards and not to the side. You can jump over your own marbles and your opponent's. Jumping, like ordinary moves, may be forward or diagonally forward, but not backwards or to the side. Please note that in the starting and 'goal' areas all balls are allowed to move and jump to the side.

Moving the marbles along the edge

If one of your marbles reaches the opposite end of the board, you can move one of your marbles along the edge of the board towards you; this will change YALi's center of gravity in your favour. Here again, you can move a marble one space or 'jump' along the edge as many times as you want - always remember you can only jump over one marble at a time into a space.

Rules for the Advanced Player

When using the basic rules, there is a strategy that always wins. We can not give this strategy away because that will spoil the challenge of you discovering it yourself. When you have discovered the winning strategy, you are ready for the advanced games rules. If you play according to these rules, YALi becomes even more strategic and thrilling.

For advanced play, click on the silver or gold ball in the middle of the board game (the ball is just above "Pick A Side"). If you want to go back to basic play, just click at the same area again.

Please note that there are three balls along the edge instead of four. The rules for advanced play are similar to basic play except the edge. For advanced play, you can move a marble along the edge each time you jump over your opponent's marble. After each jump across an opponent's marble, you may move a marble along the edge.

Two Exceptions:
- This rule does not apply to marbles in the starting and finishing position.

- If you jump over two or more of your opponent's marbles in one move you can only move one marble along the edge.

All this means that the marbles along the edges are very important. It is very likely that you can move your three marbles completely towards your side before the game is over. If your three marbles are completely at your side then you may move your opponent's three marbles towards your side of YALi. In doing so you will change YALi's center of gravity greatly in your favor. So when you play according to the advanced rules, it is very important not to let your opponent jump across your marbles.