 erhaps each time has its own game. While Camelot could be considered the American game of the 1930's and Teeko that of the 1950's, Salta (Lat.: "Jump!") was clearly the German game of the 1900's. It was called the "humanistic game" and was meant to become the "chess of the people." Like Maack's Raumschach, Laskers's Lasca and Scarne's Teeko, Salta was very popular for a short time, but then it fell into oblivion.
Salta was invented in 1899 by the forgotten German composer Conrad Büttgenbach (1870-1939), who was born in Heerdt, near Düsseldorf, and later moved to Hamburg. Just two years later, the game had an international following in Austria, England, France, Germany, and Sweden. The most famous Salta player was Sarah Bernhardt (the "Divine"), a Frenchwoman, who was the first movie star in film history. Bernhardt and Büttgenbach played a game of Salta on 1 July, 1901, in London, of which a game record and a photo survived.
This enormous success came about after the game was awarded a Gold Medal at the World Trade Fair in Paris in 1900.
The German Emperor, Wilhelm II, ordered a Salta set with pieces adorned with diamonds, emeralds and rubies.
Ordinary mortals could buy sets in every German city from 2.50 to 475 Goldmark. Only the rich could afford
the more expensive editions. Salta magazines were begun in Germany and Sweden. Several books described the game
in great detail. Numerous well-known magazines and newspapers published reviews: Die Gartenlaube, Le Matin and
the New Yorker Staatszeitung. The Vie Illustrée of Paris and the London Daily Express both offered their readers 12,000 Goldmark for solving some difficult Salta problems. Salta clubs were organized all over Germany and in several other European countries. An international tournament was held in Monaco, with a first prize of 20,000 Swiss Francs.
After World War I Europe changed and
Salta disappeared. Sometimes the game was subsequently described in German game books. The correct
rules were given by C.D. Grupp and R.F. Müller, and the wrong rules by W. Hirte. In the
English-speaking world the game was described with incorrect rules by R.C. Bell, and later by
R.W. Schmittberger, which caused even more confusion. Also, it was implemented with incorrect
rules by K. Scherer for Zillions of Games. About 15 years ago I had the fortune to find the grandson of Conrad Büttgenbach in Hamburg. He kindly sent me a copy of a Salta booklet published in 1902, which includes the original rules and a sample game.
About Salta
"Salta is played in the finest saloons; it is the most noble and most popular entertainment of the modern intelligence: according to Professor Grosse, the touchstone of the faculty of thought and the mind; according to Professor Schubert, of educational effect for the future professional life of the youth, the favorite game of the ladies, a battle on the table and a strategy unique for the officer. Salta is the new unfathomable enigma of combinations for the deep-thinking chess master, the game of the future for all classes, the most interesting tournament game of the 20th century, the most popular and amusing mind sport, the master-stroke of human ingenuity. The growing number of Salta associations is the most eloquent testimony of all. A highlight of the World Fair in Paris, Salta will begin its triumphant march around the globe."
(Deutsche Salta-Zeitung, Central-Organ für sämtliche Spielinteressen. Leipzig, Vol. 2 (9), 1901.)
Rules
Salta is played by two persons facing each other over a board of 100 squares, which is checkered black and white. The board is set with the bottom corner black square at the player's left.
Each player has 15 pieces: five Suns, five Moons and five Stars. Each type is numbered from 1 to 5. One player has green symbols on black pieces, the other red symbols on white pieces. The initial setup is shown above.
Green (or Black) moves first, then Red (or White), and so on alternately. All play is conducted on black squares only. All pieces move in like manner: one square diagonally in any direction to a vacant square.
One must jump over an opponent's piece if it occupies a square diagonally in front of one's own piece and the square immediately behind the opponent's piece is vacant. Unlike Checkers a piece leaped over is not captured or removed from the board. Players may jump only one piece per turn, in a forward direction only, and are not permitted to leap over their own pieces. If a player forgets to jump, his opponent can call "Salta!" Then the player must take his last move back and jump, before the game continues.
It is not allowed to blockade all opponent's pieces. However, a player may blockade some pieces, as long as the opponent still has a legal move.
The object of the game is to be the first player to reach the goal position, which is to shift the opening position seven rows forward, as shown in the diagram below.
At the latest, the game is considered "completed" after 120 moves (i.e. 240 half-moves). The players then try to reach their goal position with as few moves as possible, as if the opponent's pieces were non-existent.
The difference in the number of moves needed to achieve the goal positions is calculated. Then one point is subtracted from Green because he made the first move. The winner has a surplus of points, which is a positive integer, while the loser gets 0 points. If both players have 0 points, the game is a draw.
The pieces were not supposed to be touched with the fingers, but moved with a Salta stick.
There is a special handicap system. A 100:120 handicap, for instance, means that after 100 moves played, the weaker player is allowed to make 20 consecutive moves. Then the game is continued according to the normal rules.
Historical Game
M. Krone (Green) - W. Grotewold (Red), played in Jüterbog, Germany, 24 February, 1901.
1.e3f4 f8e7, 2.c3d4 d8c7, 3.b2c3 h8g7, 4.g3h4! j8i7, 5.c1b2? i7j6!, 6.i3j4 j6i5!, 7.j4:h6 i5:g3, 8.h6:f8 c9d8, 9.d2e3 d10c9, 10.f8:d10 c7b6, 11.e1d2 g3:e1, 12.a3b4! b8a7!, 13.j2i3 d8c7!, 14.i3j4 c7d6!, 15.d4c5 b6:d4, 16.c3:e5 a9b8, 17.e5:c7 g9h8, 18.c7:a9 d6e5!, 19.f4:d6 h10g9! 20.d6:f8 g7h6!, 21.f8:h10 h6g5, 22.h4:f6 b8c7, 23.f6:d8 g5f4!, 24.e3:g5 f4g3, 25.h2:f4 e9f8, 26.f4:d6 c9b8!, 27.f2:h4 b10c9, 28.d8:b10 e7f6, 29.g5:e7 c9d8, 30.e7:c9 f6g5, 31.h4:f6 g3h2, 32.g1:i3 h8i7, 33.i1:g3 d4c3!, 34.b2:d4 c3b2, 35.a1:c3 d8e7, 36.f6:d8 i9h8, 37.d4:f6 h8g7, 38.f6:h8 j10i9, 39.h8:j10 f10e9, 40.d8:f10 e5f4, 41.g3:e5 f4e3, 42.d2:f4 c7d8!, 43.f4:h6 g7:i5, 44.h6:j8 e3d4!, 45.j4:h6 b8c7, 46.d6:b8 a7b6, 47.c5:a7 e7f6, 48.e5:g7 d8e7, 49.c3:e5 e9d8, 50.g7:e9 i9h8, 51.e5:g7 f6e5!, 52.g7:i9 f8g7, 53.h6:f8 g5h4, 54.i3:g5 i7h6!, 55.g5:i7 h8:j6, 56.i9h8 e1f2, 57.b4c5! e7f6!, 58.c5d6 g9:e7, 59.h10g9 e7:c5, 60.f8e7 f2g3, 61.e9f8 h2g1, 62.d10e9 g3h2, 63.j10i9 h2i1, 64.i9h10 h4g3, 65.j8i9 g3f2, 66.i9j8 f2e1, 67.j8i9 i5j4, 68.i9j8 j4i3, 69.j8i9 i3j2, 70.i9j8 b2c1, 71.j8i9 d4e3, 72.i9j8 e3d2, 73.j8i9 b6a5, 74.a7b6 a5b4, 75.i9j8 c7:a5, 76.b6c7 d8:b6, 77.b8a7 b4c3, 78.c9b8 c3b2, 79.c7d8 b2a1, 80.b8c7 a5b4, 81.d8c9 e5d4, 82.c9d10 f6e5, 83.e7f6 h6g5, 84.i7h6 g7:i5, 85.j8i7 d4c3, 86.f8g7 c3b2, 87.e9f8 b2a3, 88.b10c9 c5d4, 89.c9d8 b6c5, 90.a7b6 d4e3, 91.d8e7 e3f4, 92.f10e9 e5d4, 93.g9f10 d4c3, 94.h8g9 c5d4, 95.b6c5 c3b2, 96.c7b8 g5h4, 97.d6c7 h4g3, 98.c7d8 g3h2, 99.d8c9 i5h4, 100.c9b10 h4g3, 101.g7h8 g3f2, 102.h8i9 j6i5, 103.i9j8 i5h4, 104.f8g7 h4i3, 105.g7h8 f4g3, 106.h8i9 d4e3, 107.i9j10 b4c3
Red wins by 27 Points!
Bibliography
Alvensleben, Baron von.
Wie spielt man Salta: Eine gründliche Anleitung zur Erlernung dieses Brettspiels,
nebst den gebräuchlichsten Kampfesweisen und einigen Musterpartien. Ernst, Leipzig 1901.
Bell, R.C.
Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. Dover Publications, New York, Vol. II, 1969.
Grupp, C.D.
Taktikspiele aus aller Welt: Eine Einführung in die spannendsten Spiele ohne Karten und Würfel. ASS Verlag, Leinfelden, 1974.
Hirte, W.
Unsere Spiele. Verlag für die Frau Leipzig (DDR), 1971.
Müller, R.F.
Dame: Duell mit flachen Steinen. Econ, Düsseldorf, 1988.
Scherer, K.
Game: Salta. Zillions Developemt Corp., Boulder Creek, 1998-2000.
(http://www.zillionsofgames.com/games/salta.html)
Schmittberger, R.W.
New Rules for Classic Games. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1992.
Schubert, H.
Salta, das neue Brettspiel. Grethlein & Co., Leipzig 1899 (1st edition) / 1908 (2nd edition).
- Salta und Salta-Solo (Miniaturbibliothek Nr. 382). Verlag für Kunst und Wissenschaft. Lepzig 1902.
Ralf Gering graduated from Tübingen University, Germany, in 1999 with an MA in Cultural Studies and
Religious Studies, and is now doing research in medical sociology and large communal societies.
His hobbies are abstract board games, hiking, the Internet and cooking. - Ed.
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