Asalto: the Game of Siege

Friday, 1st July 2016

Many will notice the resemblance of the Asalto board to peg solitaire.  This is because asalto is a development of Fox & Geese, whose board was used for solitaire.  Asalto is a hunt game with a siege theme.  Two officers defend a fortress against the onslaught of 24 rebels.  The officers have the power to capture the rebels, but the rebels have an overwhelming force of numbers with which they can block in the officers or occupy the fortress.

Asalto is the only pure hunt game in A Book of Historic Board Games, the other hunt game being Tablut, more of a hybrid between hunt and battle.  It is one of the most sophisticated hunt games.  Where fox & geese has been analysed some centuries ago and declared a victory for the geese, asalto has had less mathematical attention.  It therefore has plenty of scope for strategic analysis.

With its interesting history and its tactical depth, asalto was a good candidate for inclusion in the book.  If you're interested in learning more about the book then please visit its page on Lulu.