Breakthru is a board game dating back to 1965. The board consists of 11 x 11 squares, with a 5 x 5 area around the central square highlighted.
The game is meant to represent a naval battle, with a gold-coloured flagship and 12 escort ships pitted against 20 silver-coloured ships.
The aim of the 'gold' player is to let the flagship escape to the perimeter of the board, whereas the aim of the 'silver' player is to capture the gold flagship. Pieces move like the rook in chess, but capture one square diagonally (like the pawn in chess). Each player can make two moves per turn; more details of the rules of play are given here.
The starting array for both players is not fixed, as long as the gold pieces are within the central 5 x 5 area at the start of the game. Several alternative starting arrays are given in the rules coming with the game:
The respective numbers of pieces in Breakthru differ slightly from the typical 'n + 1 vs 2n' formula, but it remains an asymmetrical game, with the aims for both sides being identical to those for hnefatafl. Even though the rules for movement and capture also differ from traditional hnefatafl (capture is not by custodianship, but by displacement), Breakthu is clearly a game inspired by hnefatafl, and, as such, it definitely belongs in my collection.
