Two players, one board, and a simple choice every turn: run, or build. Here is everything the
game asks you to know, and the handful of ideas that decide most matches.
SolRush is Quoridor played in the browser. You have a pawn on a 9×9 board and a supply of walls. Your pawn
starts on your own back row; your goal is the row on the opposite side. So does your opponent's, in the
other direction. Whoever crosses first wins, immediately.
Your turn, in one sentence
On your turn you do exactly one of two things: move your pawn one square, or place one
wall. You may not do both, and you may not pass.
Moving your pawn
Your pawn moves one square up, down, left or right. Never diagonally, and never through a wall.
Jumping over your opponent
If your opponent is standing on the square you wanted, you do not lose the move — you jump straight over
them and land on the square immediately behind.
If that landing square is unavailable — a wall stands behind them, or they are on the edge of the board —
you may instead step diagonally around them, to either side. This is the one time a pawn moves
diagonally.
Walls
A wall is two squares long and is placed between rows or columns rather than on a square. Three
things follow from that, and they matter more than they sound:
A wall blocks both players equally. There are no walls of your own colour. Anything
you build is also in your way.
A wall is permanent. Once placed it stays for the rest of the game. Nothing removes
it, including you.
Your supply is limited. Spend your last wall and you can only move for the remainder
of the game, whatever happens next.
Walls may not overlap, and they may not cross another wall at its centre.
The rule that decides most games
You may never seal your opponent off completely. After every wall you place, both
players must still have some route to their goal row — however long you have just made it.
A wall that would trap someone is simply refused: nothing is placed, and nothing is spent. So you cannot
win by walling someone in. You can only make their journey longer than yours.
Once that lands, the whole game changes shape. It stops being about blocking and becomes a race where
you are allowed to lengthen the other lane.
Winning
SolRush has two modes, and they are won differently.
Duel — the classic
You start on opposite sides of a 9×9 board and race to reach the other's back row. Ten walls each.
Race
You both start at the bottom of a taller 9×13 board and run for the same top row. Fifteen walls each.
Because you travel together rather than past each other, walls interfere far more often.
In both, the first pawn to reach its goal row wins the moment it arrives.
The clock
Each player has a time bank for the whole game, and a separate limit of 30 seconds for any single move.
Running out of either one loses the game.
The 30-second rule applies even in rooms created with no time limit — otherwise a player who walks away from
their phone leaves the other waiting forever.
If your opponent loses their connection the clock stops, and they have a minute to come back before the
game is awarded to you. Locking your screen or switching apps mid-game does not forfeit the match.
Strategy for new players
The rules take two minutes. These take rather longer, and they are the difference between a beginner and
somebody who is difficult to beat.
Count the race before you build. The entire game is a comparison of two shortest
paths: yours and theirs. Before spending a wall, ask whether you are already ahead. If you are, walking
forward wins — and costs nothing.
An early wall is usually a wasted wall. On move three your opponent has the whole
board to go around it. The same wall placed twenty moves later, when their route has narrowed, can cost
them five squares.
Good walls lengthen; they do not block. You are not allowed to seal anyone off, so
stop looking for the wall that stops them. Look for the one that forces a detour and hands you the
tempo.
Remember that your walls trap you too. A surprising number of losses come from a wall
the player built themselves and then had to walk around.
Keep two walls for the end. A player with walls left has answers. A player with none
can only run, and their opponent knows exactly where they are going.
Use the jump. Jumping over an opponent who has stepped in front of you gains a square
you would otherwise have spent a whole turn recovering. In a close race that single square is the
game.
Common questions
Do I need an account?
No. You can play against the AI, or online, without signing up. An account exists so your rating,
streak and history follow you between devices.
Is it free?
Yes, the whole game is free to play.
How do I play a specific friend?
Create a room and send them the code. They enter it and you are both in the same game, wherever they
are.
Does it work offline?
SolRush installs as an app and games against the AI work with no connection. Playing other people
needs one, naturally.
Is this the same as Quoridor?
Duel is Quoridor, played online. Race is a variant on a taller board where both players run in the
same direction.