How to Play Hare and Hounds
Hare and Hounds was a favourite of French officers in the 1800s, which is why it's also called the French military game. One hare, three hounds, eleven points.
The board
Eleven points: a left tip, three columns of three, a right tip. Lines join neighbours in rows and columns, the tips to their columns, and the four centre diagonals through the middle point.
The rules
- The three hounds start on the left tip and the two left corners; the hare starts on the right tip. The hounds move first.
- A hound moves along a line to an empty point, forward or sideways, never back toward the left.
- The hare moves along a line to any empty point, in any direction.
- The hounds win when the hare has no legal move.
- The hare wins by reaching the left tip, by being left of every hound, or if the hounds make ten sideways moves in a row (stalling).
Playing on kawu
Tap a piece, then a highlighted point. Play either side against the computer (hard is perfect), or two players on one device. Hint shows the computer's move.
Next, read the Hare and Hounds strategy.
Frequently asked questions
Who wins with perfect play?
The hounds. The game is small enough to solve completely, and the hounds can always trap the hare. That makes playing the hare against the hard computer a real challenge, and playing the hounds a lesson in technique.
What counts as a sideways move?
A hound moving within its own column (up or down). Ten in a row by the hounds, with no forward move between, hands the game to the hare.
Last updated 2026-10-20