The game rules:
* Habesha Dama is a game played by two opponents, on opposite sides of the gameboard
* One player has the Habesha Beer crown; the other has the crown upside down
* On this 8×8 board, 12 army pieces are lined up on each players’ side, in three rows
* Soldiers can move sideways one square, capturing by means of a jump, but they cannot move backwards. When a soldier reaches the back row of its opponent, it is promoted to a king at the end of the move.
* Kings may move any number of squares forward, backward or sideways, capturing army pieces by jumping over any piece and landing on any square within permissible path beyond the captured piece.
* Pieces are removed immediately after being jumped. If a jump is possible, it must be made. If several ways of jumping are possible, the one that captures the most pieces must be chosen. There is no difference during capture whether king or soldier; each count as one piece. If there is more than one way to capture the maximum possible number of pieces, the player may choose which piece to take.
* The game ends when a player has no legal move, either because all their pieces are captured or they are completely blocked. In which case, the opponent wins the game.