Fanorona

Madagascar's national board game — capture by approach or withdrawal on a 5×9 diagonal grid.

🌤indoor

What is Fanorona?

Fanorona is the national board game of Madagascar, derived from Alquerque and played on a 5×9 grid with both orthogonal and diagonal lines. Each player has 22 pieces. Uniquely, captures happen not by jumping but by approaching or withdrawing from a line of enemy pieces along the direction of movement — an entire line can be captured in a single move.

Quick facts

Category

Board Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–2

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇲🇬 Madagascar

Estimated origin

17th-century Madagascar

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified