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WHAT & WHY: PACRU, SHACRU & AZACRU: FAQ

The Pacru FAQ



Frequently asked questions about Pacru sets, and about the games Pacru, Azacru & Shacru.

Is this the Pacru rules FAQ?

No - here is the pacru rules faq

Is "Pacru" the game or the board?

The game is "Pacru" and the board is a "Pacru board" - there are other games that can be played on a Pacru board already and we expect that there will be many more over the coming decades

What kind of reviews has Pacru received?

See the reviews page

Are there different Pacru sets at different prices?

Yes, there are 2 manufactured sets - the exclusive glass tile and wood veneer 101 and the wood and cardboard 302. We will also be selling some of the prototypes at some point. We have also thought about a themed version.

Where can I buy Pacru?

Look on this site at the buy section.

Is there a version available for people with visual impairments?

Not currently but when the game spreads more widely, we would plan to address this and be in discussion with representative bodies about the best way of achieving this.

How is Pacru pronounced?

However you like - in the end what most people do in any given place determines how is a word is pronounced in that place. For a much more extended answer see our guide to pronunciation.

Where did the rules for Pacru come from - are they based on other games?

The official story of the origin of the game is on the website along with some comparisions to other games. Many games players will have noticed features in the rules that have some relationship to some well-known games. The "connection change" is not unlike the change of tiles in Othello/Reversi, but in Pacru this involves a piece moving, rather than a tile being placed on a board. This is perhaps closest to "Yinsh" though there all the markers are flipped (change colour) rather than becoming the colour of the moving piece . In a more abstract way, there is an echo of Risk and its notion of an increase in armies due to ownership of territories, and the notion of "power of movement" based on tiles in an area in Pacru. The requirement that a "pincer move" needs at least two pieces acting together, has some similarity to the attack rules in Diplomacy. As other similarities are pointed out we will update this answer, but we doubt whether anyone claiming Pacru to be derivative could make a good case.

Is it always going to be free to play Pacru on the Net?

We do not know. It partly depends on how the economics of making & selling Pacru works out and it is much too early to say. We imagine that a reasonable proportion of Pacru players on-line will also want to own a Pacru board, and if that is the case we should be able to carry on providing a place to play Pacru for free.

Why is the 302 more expensive than some other games whose components look just as costly?

Pacru 302 was produced on a relatively short run (i.e. there were not a huge number of sets produced). Pacru 101 was produced on an even shorter run. Producing the game on a short run and not being willing to cut corners on the production (the chevron shape is not so easy to produce in wood, the coloured boxes for holding the components are not standard off the shelf items but had to be specially made, the rule booklet has a relatively large font size compared to many game rules and contains the rules to 3 games, not just one, there are 200 markers not just 84 which would just about do for a two-player only game etc) has meant that Pacru is selling at a good deal smaller margin than many less expensive games. So the question may be - why didn't we produce a lot more Pacru? The answer to that is to do with being a very small games company. We have also put money into having a website with game software from the start, so that even if someone can't afford Pacru now, they can still play it. So the next question is why didn't we sell the game to someone else, and the answer to that is that we didn't want to lose the integrity of the games ... if someone else is paying then they can say ... "play it on a 8 by 8 boards, lose some of the markers, make the chevrons into plastic eagles" and they are the ones making the final decisions. In conclusion we are happier to grow slower our own way, until the games are so well defined that if we did sell out to someone else it wouldn't be in their interest to change them.

Another answer would be to say ... do you like Pacru, Azacru or Shacru enough to buy it at the price it is currently? If not, then keep playing them for free until you find you do want to buy a set!

Will the rules of Pacru stay the same?

It is no exaggeration, though it may be very misleading, to say that Pacru has not had a huge number of people playing it prior to this century. Consequently it is quite possible that the rules will evolve. On the other hand the rules have received a fair amount of play testing and no-one has yet come up with some particularly set of tactics that suggest a serious weakness in the rules. Our intention is to help in the creation of structures so that experienced Pacru players can join an association which will be influential in any decisions as regards suggested changes to Pacru and that eventually there will be a world body controlling the rules.  

Are these games going to last?

We very much hope so, and we expect so too. The games were not intended to be fashionable for one season and then disappear.

Are there any Pacru clubs?

We have set up a contact point for anyone wishing to set up a Pacru club in their area or school. Email clubspacru.com. We will try to assist if we can. There are not many clubs as yet: see the clubs page

Are there any other Pacru-playing (or Shacru or Azacru) sites on the Net?

Not that we know of.

Why "Pacru"?

The offical story behind the name is on the main web site.

Is there going to be chat on the Pacru site?

Yes, in fact for those playing a game of Pacru there already is. We want however to be sure that any such chat is controlled so as to avoid mis-use of the facility by people who are interested in deceiving others as to their identity and purposes in such a way as to cause harm. With the chat facility within the Pacru software on the site, the chat is recorded along with the game - this we consider a major disincentive to any abuse of the facility

What if I have a question you haven't answered

Email us ... and if it seems likely to be frequently asked, we'll add it in here.