Anabon

Anabon, also known as "Iant Tyalie" (the Old Game), is a game played in the Sanstyr Conclave. In elven, the word "Anabon" means "creation".

The game is primarily tactical and played on three-dimensional boards of various shapes and sizes. Typically the boards are large enough for players to walk around inside them to move or interact with their pieces. The number of players differs from game to game and also influences the tactics, as players can choose to cooperate or compete with one another. As well as skill and tactics, random events may influence gameplay (often as card or other games of chance), and sometimes may change the outcome critically.

Game
The game consists of a number of minor games, such as card games and elemental die matching, which allow the players to build up their forces for use on the game's three giant boards - Anabon (Creation), Carme (Shape) and Oronti (Becoming) - and a number of minor boards.

The game uses a variety of pieces to represent a player's units (military, resource or even philosophical premises). Some of the pieces are magical constructs which may change form during the game according to their use and environment. The pieces respond to their handling by a player but are often difficult to predict — for instance, some pieces can only come into play when a player holds it while sleeping. Due to the magical nature of the pieces, players are often encouraged to sleep while holding some of the more important pieces so they can better understand them in play.

Significance
The game is played in a tournament during the Sun Festival (every six years). Initially consisting of 128 players from various Ashkashi tribes the tournament consists of six rounds preceding a final, which is held in the Hall of the Shifting Sands in Amaul. The complexity of the game aims to represent reality to such a degree that a player's own political and philosophical outlook can be expressed in play, with the idea being that rival ideologies are essentially "tested" in the game before the winners can apply them in reality. The victor of the final game is granted an hour long audience with High Priest Farrael in which they can ask any questions they desire, with the proviso that they must never repeat the words spoken there.