If you have read "System" you will know that a chess game plays a prominent role. It's not just any old chess game however, but the version which emerged from the complex culture of the novel. Here are the rules of "hexapod chess" as played in the...
Sentries (or Pawns) can only move one hex at a time.
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They can only move forwards in three possible directions (as illustrated in the diagram) as long as that space is vacant or occupied by an opponent's piece - in which case the captured piece is removed from the board.
Sentries are not able to 'jump' over other pieces.
They can be used to reclaim a captured queen if they reach the opposite side of the board - as in traditional human chess.
