Thirteen geese team up to corner one hungry fox on a cross of 33 points. Pick a side and see who runs out of room first.
Fox and Geese is a two-sided chase on a board shaped like a plus sign. One player controls a single fox sitting in the middle. The other controls thirteen geese packed into the lower part of the cross. The fox wants to eat its way through the flock, and the geese want to box the fox in so it can’t move at all.
The fight is lopsided by design. Only the fox can capture, but the geese have far more pieces. That gap is what makes each side feel so different to play.
Rules in brief
The geese go first, and then the two sides take turns. Every move is one step along a line to a free point next to you. There are no diagonal lines here, so pieces only travel left, right, up or down.
The fox may step in any of those four directions. A goose is more limited. It can step sideways or toward the upper tip of the board, but it can never retreat toward its starting rows.
To capture, the fox hops over a goose that sits right beside it and lands on the empty point just beyond. The goose is removed. If another hop is open from the new spot, the fox can keep going, even turning a corner mid-chain. Tap or click the fox when you want the chain to end. Jumping is never forced.
How a game ends
There are two ways to finish. The geese win if the fox has no legal step or jump when its turn comes. Meanwhile, the fox wins once the flock shrinks to just two birds, since two are not enough to trap anything. The fox also wins if the geese get stuck with no move. Below the board, a counter tracks the surviving birds.
Winning moves for each side
- Geese: keep the line tight. Push forward as a solid row with no holes, leaving the fox no bird with a free landing spot behind it.
- Geese: don’t overrun the fox. A goose that ends up behind the fox can never come back, so it no longer helps the trap.
- Geese: seal the side arms. Taking the left and right arms early shrinks the space where the fox can roam.
- Fox: hunt for chains. Two loose geese with gaps behind them can become a double capture in one turn.
- Fox: avoid the tips of the arms. Those points have few exits, which makes them easy places to get cornered.
Good to know
You can pick Easy, Medium or Hard when playing the computer. On Hard, the computer checks how you would best reply before it chooses a move, so sloppy plays get punished. Move hints are available if you want a nudge, and Resign lets you end a lost game and start fresh.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move a piece | Arrow keys and Enter to pick the piece, then the target point | Click your piece, then an empty neighboring point | Tap your piece, then an empty neighboring point |
| Jump again or stop (fox) | — | Click the next landing point to keep jumping, or click the fox to stop | Tap the next landing point to keep jumping, or tap the fox to stop |
| Start a game against the computer | — | Click "vs Computer", choose geese or fox and a level, then click "New game" | Tap "vs Computer", choose geese or fox and a level, then tap "New game" |
| Take back a move | — | Click "Undo" | Tap "Undo" |
Fox and Geese FAQ
Can I play Fox and Geese on a phone or Chromebook?
Yes. The board works with touch, so you can tap pieces on a phone or tablet. On a Chromebook or laptop you can click with the mouse, or use the arrow keys and Enter to choose a piece and its target point.
Is it a one-player or two-player game?
Both. Choose "vs Computer" to face the machine as either the fox or the geese, with three levels to pick from. You can also hand the same device back and forth with a friend for a local two-player match.
What happens if I close the page in the middle of a game?
The game in progress is saved, so you can come back and pick up the position where you stopped. There is also an Undo button if you want to take back a move you regret.
Which side is easier for a beginner?
Many new players find the fox simpler at first, since it moves in all four directions and you only need to spot open jumps. The geese reward patience. Try both sides against Easy before moving up to Medium or Hard.
