Pieces are placed on the intersections  of the board lines in alternating turns anywhere except that the first piece always is positioned at the center of the board.  This version of Pente allows the loser of the previous game to begin the next game.

Winning requires that a player achieve five (5) pieces in a row such as , or capture of five of the opponents' pairs  , or both in the same move, in any of eight directions including diagonals.  

A pair is captured when a player makes a move that places his/her piece in such a way that the opponent's pair becomes blocked on both sides.  Only pairs can be taken from the board, although it is possible to capture more than one pair with a single move.

Pairs are not lost by moving into already blocked arrangements.

Aside from being weary of losing pairs , immediately defending against an Open-Three by blocking either end, middle, or breaking up opponents row by removal of availible pair(s), typically avoids losing the game two (2) moves later.

An Open-Three resembles  or  in any direction. Watch for multi-directional Open-Three's.