Learn the board in a minute.

Players are eliminated once they have taken at least one turn and no orbs remain under their control.

The winner is the final player with any orbs left on the board.

Corner cells explode at 2 because they touch only two neighbors.

Edge cells explode at 3.

Center cells explode at 4.

Place one orb in an empty cell or in a cell you already own.

If that cell reaches critical mass, it bursts and sends one orb into each orthogonal neighbor.

Any enemy cell touched by your explosion becomes yours immediately, including all orbs already there.

Chain reactions continue until every cell is stable again.

Corners are premium positions because they need fewer orbs to burst and are harder to counter-flip.

Cells that sit one orb below critical mass are your launch points. Build them deliberately.

Do not overstack next to enemy-ready cells unless you can trigger first.