Rules of Motte

The board is 17×17 tiles (columns A–Q, rows 1–17). Players place towers on tiles, one per turn. Blue always goes first; colours are assigned at random.

Towers can be placed on any empty, unblocked tile and never move. Either player may resign at any time.

Two tiles are adjacent if they share a side or a corner (up to 8 neighbours).

When a structure is completed, every tile adjacent to it is cleared of towers (either colour) and becomes permanently blocked.

One tower builds at most one structure. If it completes two overlapping structures of the same size — for example two mottes or two palaces — you choose which one to build; a larger structure always takes precedence over smaller ones inside it.

Structure towers can’t be used for secondary patterns. The game ends when a player reaches 3 points. If the board fills up, the higher score wins; a tie goes to Red, who moved second.

Completing a secondary pattern with your towers gives you another placement immediately (your opponent’s turn is skipped). Only the shaded tiles need your towers — the others can hold anything. Patterns chain, towers can be reused, and several patterns from one tower still count once.

Each game uses the X fort, the Plus fort, and two random armies from the pool below — each valid in all four rotations.

Each player has 15:00. Once your clock is below 5:00, every completed turn adds 5 seconds. Running out of time loses.

Everyone starts at 1000 MMR. The winner gains, and the loser loses, 10 + round((loser − winner) / 20) points, clamped between 1 and 20.