How do you play Orbito?

Goal of the game

Try to get 4 marbles of your color in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line on the moving game board.

Preparation

• The game begins with an empty game board
• Lift the Orbito button in the center of the game board and turn it a quarter turn to clamp it.
• Each player chooses a color and takes the 8 marbles in their chosen color.
• The players agree on who will start.

Play and adapt

Each player takes turns placing one of their marbles on the game board. Each turn consists of 3 steps:

Step 1: Move one of your opponent’s marbles to an adjacent, free field.

• This step is not possible during the first turn of the game (because your opponent’s marble is not yet there) or when all adjacent spaces of that marble are occupied.
• This step is optional. Thus, you may decide not to move your opponent’s marble.
• This marble may only be moved to an adjacent field and only in a horizontal or vertical direction, i.e. not diagonally.

Step 2: Place one of your own marbles in any free square on the board.

After you place a marble, you may not move your own marbles. Only your opponent is allowed to do that! (See step 1)

Step 3: To end your turn, press the Orbito button.

This will cause ALL marbles to move 1 space on the game board!

Only after pressing the Orbito button can a valid sequence of 4 same marbles be formed. So never during a player’s turn!

NOTE: Both the inner and outer “orbit” rotate counterclockwise.

End of the game

The game can end in the following ways:

• At any time after pressing the Orbito button, a sequence of 4 marbles of the same color is formed (See “The Winner”).
• No player has a sequence of 4 after the last marble was placed on the board and the Orbit button was pressed. In this case, the Orbit button must be pressed 5 more times. The first player to get a sequence of 4 wins the game. If there is no series after 5 presses, it’s a tie!

NOTE: If both players, after pressing the Orbito button, get a series of 4 simultaneously, it is also a tie.

The Winner!

The winner is the first player to have a horizontal, vertical or diagonal sequence of 4 marbles in his color!

NOTE: It is possible for a player, after pressing the Orbito button, to make a sequence of 4 in his opponent’s color and thus cause his opponent to win!