Distrify

Distrify is a connection game played by two players, White and Black, on a square board. Board sizes from 9x9 to 19x19 are recommended. The game’s etymology stems from its primary mechanic, which penalizes players for the creation of 3-in-a-rows with their pieces. The result is a game with devious tactical twists and a hint of coldness.

Black moves first, placing a single stone anywhere on the grid. Players then alternate turns, placing up to two new friendly stones on empty cells. If two stones are placed, then:

a) the placed stones must not be diagonally adjacent to each other, and
b) the placed stones cannot result in the formation of a new horizontal, vertical, or diagonal three-in-a-row comprised of friendly stones.

A crosscut is a 2x2 square in which each player controls a pair of opposite corners; a player's move may never result in the formation of a crosscut.

Black wins if there exists a path of orthogonally or diagonally adjacent black stones reaching between the top and bottom rows, while White wins if there exists an analogous path stretching from the westmost to eastmost columns.