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Xeno is an abstract game of the "Laskers" (stacking pieces) family which is played on the surface of a sphere. The game "board" is a plastic sphere with Velcro squares attached to it, and the pieces are also Velcro, so they stick to the squares and each other.

The game was apparently at times known as Obol, The Game of O, or O*, and was manufactured as early as 1988 though the last version was made in 1991. The standard game is on a 24-square sphere. A 12-square sphere was also available, the rulebook advertises a 30-square sphere, and there are indications that at one point they had a 36-square sphere, though there is no confirmation any of the larger sizes were ever available for sale. Also, a sphere with many more squares (120?) exists only in prototype form.

The rulebook includes rules for other games, including a checkers variant and a (credited) version of Sid Sackson's Focus for the spherical board.

I can confirm that at least 5 copies of a 30-ball were sold at one game convention in Los Angeles (I got one of them). I can also confirm seeing a much, MUCH larger ball -- several feet in diameter -- with lots of spaces and a 4 (5?) person game in progress (same convention). ~~~~

I can also confirm having purchased one of those 30-balls. Sadly, it was lost in a move, and I want to replace it. ~~~~

Xeno

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