(Diagrams are forthcoming)

The game of Sko is believed to have originated on Planets Z, Y, X, and V. (Planet W residents were likely too busy playing contact sports.) Its setup and pieces have remained practically unchanged since its invention, and is representative of the governmental/military system of the time (i.e., huddle in a corner and hide behind someone else.)

Sko is played on a board with 6 rows of 6 tiny holes each, for a total of 36. Both players control an army of six colored pegs each. The goal of the game is to eliminate all of the opponent's pegs from the board. The pegs can also be stacked on top of one another. (In the game, it is possible, though rarely tactically sound, to stack all six pegs into one; so it is in real life. Sko is praised for its realism.)

The game is deceptively complex -- enough to warrant the foundation of organized competition. Astaralgia's first known Sko champion was Ethko Plor, who developed such an obsession of the game that he went insane and retreated to the far reaches of Planet N, where he lived among Poontas until his death. At the most recent Astaralgia-wide tournament, the game between two bitter rivals Hallen Torthemere and Weff Perkono ended in a fistfight, and both were disqualified. The title of champion belongs to Onh Rellhop, age 2.

On your turn, a single peg can move one space in any of the eight directions. If the target spot is:
-occupied by one of your pegs, stacking is possible (discussed later).
-occupied by an enemy peg, capturing may be possible (discussed next).

Each peg has a defense value and an attack value. Its defense value is determined by how many friends immediately surround it (one space in all eight directions.) A lone peg defends itself once, for a value of 1. In the starting setup, the peg at 22 is surrounded by all five friend pegs, for a total of 6. All single pegs have an attack value of 1.

If a peg is attacked more than it is defended, it can be captured. To capture:
-Remove the target peg from the board.
-Move any of the attacking pegs into the newly vacant spot.

Most importantly, it is illegal to move the same peg on consecutive turns. This proves decisive in the endgame.

An alternative to moving a single peg is stacking (and unstacking) pegs. Stacking requires one move, and this is done by moving one peg on top of an adjacent friend peg. This new double peg now has an attack value of 3, but can still only defend itself (and other pegs/stacks) once. A triple peg can be created by moving a single peg onto a double (or vice versa.) Three pegs have an attack value of 5, and a defense of 1. In general, a peg gains two attack points for every peg placed on top of it.

Unstacking also requires one move. Any number of pegs can be moved off of a stack, as long as they end up on the same square. A stack of 5 can separate into stacks of 2 and 3 or of 1 and 4.

Stacks move like single pegs: to any of the eight adjacent spaces. The same stack cannot be moved on two consecutive turns. However, (un)stacking is not the same as moving. If a peg moves, then on the next turn moves onto a stack, this is allowed. Likewise, it is legal to move a stack, then on the following move, separate it.

The important rule regarding stacking is that: if you stack then unstack the following turn (or vice versa), your pegs must not end up in the same position as before stacking.

Also, it is illegal to unstack and capture on the same turn.

Many variations exist, and rightly so, as even the masters have been known to pass out from boredom when playing basic Sko. Most popular is the Tower Variation, developed on Planet Y. It incorporates the use of one rectangular block per side. This "tower" can be placed on any of the 36 squares on the board at any time with these rules:
-The square on which to build the tower must be unoccupied.
-All of one side's remaining pegs must be adjacent to the square on which to build the tower.
-The tower, once built, cannot be moved or removed by either side.
-The tower has an attack value equal to the number of friend pegs on the board (its attack value changes as pegs are captured.)

Boundary Sko: An alternative to moving is stringing (or unstringing) two friend pegs together with an elastic band, so as to limit the opponent's movements.

Smop Sko: Both sides start with one sixty-peg stack each, to place anywhere on the board.

Double-time Sko: Move order follows one of the following two patterns: WWBBWWBBWWBB... or WBBWWBBWWBBW...

The most controversial variation, the Tyhymamy Gauntlet (named for the sixth Astaralgia-wide champion), involves the basic game with several additions: A time constraint of 90 seconds per 30 moves, with an electrified board, played on a bridge spanning the Ujor volcano, with the minor distraction of the killer magma-based wildlife. Only Tyhymamy himself took on this challenge and lived.