Hourglass Jump
Slide, or jump to capture. Take them all, or leave them stuck. Single game.
Hourglass Jump is a two-player capture game on an hourglass-shaped board where you slide a piece along a line or jump over an enemy piece to take it. Capture every enemy piece, or leave them with no move, to win.
The neck of the hourglass is a single point, so every piece that crosses it is exposed, and one careless slide can set off a chain of jumps that empties half a side. Captured pieces pile up in a rack at the captor's end, so the score is a heap you can both see.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Single game
- Length
- About 90 seconds to 3 minutes
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Hourglass Jump: quick rules
About 90 seconds to 3 minutes for the default single game on 6 pieces; best of 3 on 9 pieces runs 6 to 10 minutes. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Slide a piece along a line, or jump over an enemy piece to take it.
- 2After a capture you may jump again. Tap the check to stop.
- 3Capturing is your choice.
- 4Take every enemy piece, or leave them with no move, to win.
- 5The loser starts the next game.
Hourglass Jump rules
Setup
- The board is an hourglass of rows of three points with a single point, the neck, in the middle.
- With 6 pieces each, the board has 5 rows. Each player fills the two rows at their own end and only the neck starts empty.
- With 9 pieces each, the board is taller, with 9 rows. Each player fills the three rows at their end, and the neck and the rows on either side of it start empty.
- Who starts the first game is picked at random. After that, the loser of a game starts the next one. A 3-2-1 countdown starts every game.
Turns
- On your turn, either slide one piece along a line to the next empty point, or jump.
- To jump, move a piece over an enemy piece next to it, in a straight line, onto the empty point right behind. The piece you jump over is captured and goes to your rack.
- Jumps run in straight lines of three: along a row, down a column, or diagonally through the neck.
- After a capture, if the same piece can jump again, you may keep going. Only that piece can move, and only by jumping. Tap the check button in your dock to stop, or the chain ends by itself when there's no jump left. A whole chain is one turn.
- Capturing is optional: you can slide even when a jump is open, and stop a chain early.
Winning
- Capture the last enemy piece and you win the game at once.
- Or leave your rival with no legal move when their turn begins, and you win.
- The match is a single game, or best of 3, which ends as soon as one player has 2 wins.
Ties and replays
- If 40 slides go by with no capture (60 on the 9-piece board), the game is a stand-off and is replayed: it doesn't count, and the other player starts. Any capture resets the count.
- A match never ends drawn.
Hints against the bot
- Playing the bot, you can spend 20 coins on your turn for a hint. It draws your strongest whole turn, including a full chain, for 2 seconds, without playing it.
- There are no hints against a friend, online or in a tournament.
Boards
- Classic (6 pieces)
- 5 rows and 13 points; only the neck starts empty. The default.
- Tall · 9 rows (9 pieces)
- 25 points; the neck and the rows either side start empty, so the first moves are real choices.
Tips to win at Hourglass Jump
- 1Guard the neck. A piece on the single middle point can be jumped from either side, so only step onto it when it's covered.
- 2Before every slide, check the point behind each of your pieces. An empty point behind a piece is what lets your rival jump it.
- 3Look for chains. A slide that sets up a double or triple jump next turn is worth more than a single capture now.
- 4Captures are optional, so check where your piece lands before you jump. A capture that walks into a bigger chain is a bad trade.
- 5When you're ahead, hem in their last pieces rather than chasing them. A rival with no move loses just like one with no pieces.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- On your turn, every piece that can move has a ring. Tap one to see where it can go: small dots are slides, ringed dots are jumps.
- Tap a dot to move. During a chain, tap the next ringed dot for the same piece, or the check button in your dock to stop.
- Tap another of your pieces to switch, or the selected piece again to put it down.
- Either player can touch the board, but only the mover's pieces and buttons respond.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Pieces each | 6 Classic (default)9 Tall · 9 rows | Sets the board size. |
| Games | Single (default)Best of 3 | One game, or best of 3. |
| Must jump | OnOff (default) | Extra. When a capture is possible you must take it, and a chain must be finished. |
| Safe centre | OnOff (default) | Extra. A piece standing on the neck can't be jumped. |
| Call-outs | On (default)Off | Extra. "Double jump!", "Triple jump!" and "Clean sweep!" stickers after big turns. No effect on the rules. |
Play Hourglass Jump against the bot
The bot plays Blue and sees only the board. It plans whole turns, including whole jump chains, weighing pieces captured against pieces it leaves exposed. It thinks for a moment before each turn and plays its chain jumps one at a time so you can follow them.
Easy
Looks only at its own move and plays a random one half the time.
Normal
Checks your best reply to its move, with the occasional random turn.
Hard
Looks a turn further ahead and rarely makes a random move.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- PlannedOnline play for Hourglass Jump is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on one phone or the bot.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is always 6 pieces, a single game, with the base rules and Call-outs on, and hints are off.
- Hints
- Stuck against the bot? A hint lights up the strongest move for a few coins. Never with a friend, online or in a tournament.
Coming soon
- Online play. Play Hourglass Jump against a friend online, with a turn timer and reconnect. Planned, not available yet.
How it feels
- A wooden slide, and a hop as a piece jumps.
- The captured piece spins and lands in the captor's rack with a clack.
- A rising stab with "Double jump!" or "Triple jump!", and a fanfare for a clean sweep.
- A thud and a shake when a side is stuck.
Accessibility
- Ownership shows by end of the board, racks and docks, and jump targets have a ring, so nothing relies on colour alone.
- One finger and two taps a move, with large touch areas.
- There is no clock on a turn when you play on one phone or against the bot.
Hourglass Jump questions
Take turns sliding a piece to the next empty point or jumping over an enemy piece to capture it, and keep jumping in a chain if you can. Capture every enemy piece, or leave your rival with no move, to win.
No. Captures are optional unless you switch on the Must jump extra.
No. If 40 slides pass with no capture (60 on the 9-piece board), the game is replayed with the other player starting, so a match always has a winner.
Yes. The bot plays on Easy, Normal or Hard, and you can buy a hint with coins on your turn.
A single game on the 6-piece board takes about 90 seconds to 3 minutes.
Yes. Hourglass Jump in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Play Hourglass Jump on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
