Read the camp dimensions, not a different board size
Both layouts use all the squares of an 8×8 board. The first number gives the number of rows in each camp; the second gives its columns. A 3×3 camp holds nine pieces, while a 3×4 camp holds twelve. White starts in the bottom-right corner of the diagrams and Black in the top-left. White moves first.
The diagrams use files a–h from left to right and ranks 1–8 from bottom to top. Each camp is a filled rectangle, including both light and dark squares. Your destination is the other player's starting camp, with the same shape and number of squares as your own.
| What changes | 3×3 camps | 3×4 camps |
|---|---|---|
| Board size | 8×8 | 8×8 |
| Pieces per player | 9 | 12 |
| White starts | Files f–h, ranks 1–3 | Files e–h, ranks 1–3 |
| Black starts | Files a–c, ranks 6–8 | Files a–d, ranks 6–8 |
3×3: nine pieces and a clear e-file
White occupies f1–h3, and Black occupies a6–c8. The e-file is empty at the start. Look at White's piece on g2: it can jump left over the friendly piece on f2 and land on e2. The complete opening move is g2 → e2. The piece on f2 stays where it is.
Now compare f2 → d2. Although d2 is empty, e2 is also empty in the initial position. There is no adjacent piece to jump over, so that two-square move is not legal. An empty destination alone does not create a jump.
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |  | | | |||||
| 7 | | | | |||||
| 6 | | | | |||||
| 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||
| 3 |  | | | |||||
| 2 | | | | |||||
| 1 | | | |
3×4: the added column reverses those two choices
White now occupies e1–h3, and Black occupies a6–d8. Compared with 3×3, White has three extra pieces on e1, e2 and e3; Black has three extra pieces on d6, d7 and d8. The board itself has not grown.
From this starting position, f2 → d2 is a legal jump: e2 contains a friendly piece and d2 is empty. But g2 → e2 is not legal, because e2 is occupied. You cannot land on that piece, and Corners does not capture or remove it. The same added piece supplies a support for one route and blocks the landing of another.
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | | | | | ||||
| 7 | | | | | ||||
| 6 | | | | | ||||
| 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | | | | | ||||
| 2 | | | | | ||||
| 1 | | | | |
Play one opening pair in each layout
For 3×3, play White g2 → e2, then Black b7 → d7. Black jumps over its own piece on c7 into the empty d7 square. Both players have moved one piece out of their camps, and all nine pieces per side remain on the board.
For 3×4, start a separate game and play White f2 → d2, then Black c7 → e7. Black jumps over d7 and lands on e7. All twelve pieces per side remain. These are legal example replies, not forced moves or a claim that this opening is best. Both examples leave the game in progress.
Keep each pair within its own starting layout. Do not play the 3×3 sequence and then add pieces to turn it into 3×4: choose the layout before starting and evaluate the position that actually appears.
The movement rules stay the same
In classic Corners, a piece steps one square horizontally or vertically into an empty square, or jumps over an adjacent piece to the empty square immediately beyond it. Either colour can provide a jump support. Diagonal moves are not part of these examples, and jumped pieces stay on the board.
One turn may contain a chain of jumps by the same piece. You may stop at a legal landing even when another jump is available; an ordinary step cannot be combined with a jump in that turn. Changing the camp size does not turn jumps into captures or make their continuation compulsory.
Use the selected camp boundaries all the way to the finish
A piece outside its starting camp cannot move back into it. A piece that starts its turn inside its destination camp can move within that camp, but cannot leave it. The rectangles in the diagrams therefore remain relevant after the opening pieces have moved away.
For White, the destination is a6–c8 in 3×3 and a6–d8 in 3×4. Black aims for f1–h3 or e1–h3 respectively. Bringing your whole team into that camp wins: nine pieces in 3×3, twelve in 3×4. Reaching the far edge alone is not the objective.
There is also a rule against blocking the finish with pieces left at home. A completely occupied destination camp counts as claimed if it contains at least one of the arriving player's pieces, even when the remaining occupants belong to the opponent. If neither whole team has arrived and both camps are claimed this way, the last player to move wins. An unfilled destination camp does not meet this condition.
Before selecting a landing near either corner, check which rectangle belongs to the chosen layout. For example, White's e1, e2 and e3 squares belong to its starting camp in 3×4 but lie outside it in 3×3. Carrying over the wrong camp boundary can make a planned return move illegal.
Choose a layout, then practise its opening
Open Happy Games in Telegram, choose Corners and select 3 × 3 or 3 × 4 before the game. Count your starting pieces and locate the edge of the camp. For each intended jump, name the occupied support first and the empty landing second.
The guided demo below uses 3×4 camps and a different opening: e3 → e4, Black d6 → d5, then e1 → e3 → e5. It shows how to prepare a chain; it does not replay the two opening pairs above. Use the related jump guides when you are ready to plan several landings.