How to Play MazeDuel

Be the first to move your piece to the opposite side of the board. Your piece always starts at the bottom of your view and must reach the top row before your opponent reaches yours.

• The board is a 9 × 9 grid of cells.
• Two pieces start centered on opposite edges (row 9 column 5, and row 1 column 5).
• Each player begins with 10 walls.

On each turn, choose exactly one action:

• Move your piece one cell, or
• Place one wall.

Then the turn passes to your opponent.

A piece moves one cell orthogonally — up, down, left, or right. A move is legal only when the destination is on the board and not blocked by a wall. You cannot move onto the cell your opponent occupies, except by jumping.

When your opponent is directly adjacent, you may jump straight over them to the cell immediately beyond — provided that cell is on the board and no wall blocks the landing.

If a wall or the board edge blocks the straight jump, you may instead step diagonally to either side of your opponent, when those diagonal cells are open.

• Walls block movement between cells.
• A wall is placed horizontally or vertically and spans two cell edges.
• Walls cannot overlap or cross another wall.
• A wall can never fully trap a player — both pieces must always keep at least one route to their goal edge.
• Each player has a limited supply of 10 walls — spend them wisely.

The first player whose piece reaches the opposite edge wins immediately. The game then ends and no further moves are allowed.

• Don't spend all your walls too early — you'll want them late.
• Watch both shortest paths, not just your own.
• A wall is strongest when it lengthens your opponent's route without hurting yours.
• Sometimes simply advancing beats blocking.
• Endgames often come down to the exact path length — count carefully.