# Project: place a stone, or move one. > The first step of every Hexodic turn, and the only way stones enter or cross the board. Project is the first step of every Hexodic turn: Place a stone from reserve, or Move a stone once the reserve is empty. The opening restriction, capture cooldown and Move capture explained. Canonical HTML: https://hexodic.com/rules/project Site index for agents: https://hexodic.com/llms.txt Project is the first step of every Hexodic turn: the player either Places a stone from their reserve onto the board or, only once their reserve is empty, Moves one of their stones to an adjacent cell. Project is mandatory, and the cell where the Projected stone lands anchors that turn's Shape. Reviewed 2026-09-15 against the Hexodic rules engine. ## Place A Place puts one reserve stone onto an empty, unlocked cell. Two restrictions apply: - **Opening restriction** — a player's first Place of the game must be at least 1 step from the centre cell. - **Capture cooldown** — after one of your stones is captured, your next Place must be at least 2 steps from every cell where your stones were captured. If the cooldown leaves no legal Place, your Project and Shape are skipped for that turn and the cooldown clears. A Place is never a capture by itself, but it can complete an encirclement that the end-of-turn [capture](/rules/capture) check resolves. ## Move A Move steps one on-board stone to one of its six neighbours. A Move is only available when the player's reserve is empty. The destination must be empty, or hold an enemy stone on a strictly lower tier than the cell the moving stone leaves — in that case the enemy stone is captured and returns to its owner's reserve. A Move can never enter a cell holding your own stone. Captured stones go back into reserve, so a player who is losing stones returns to Placing. A player who begins a turn with no legal Project loses to [Strangle](/rules/strangle). With stones in reserve that means no empty unlocked cell they may Place on (a cooldown skip does not count as stuck); with an empty reserve it means none of their stones has an empty neighbour or a lower enemy neighbour to step onto. ## Related - [Shape](/rules/shape) — the step that follows every Project. - [Tiers](/rules/tiers) — why Move capture depends on height. - [Glossary: Place, Move, Capture cooldown](/glossary#place) - [All rules](/rules) [Get the Hexodic app](/download) and try the opening restriction on your first Place. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you move a stone in Hexodic while you still have stones in reserve? No. In Hexodic a Move is only legal once your reserve is empty; while any stone is in reserve, your Project must be a Place. ## Where to go next - [Shape](https://hexodic.com/rules/shape) — Raising and lowering the board under the fight. - [Strategy](https://hexodic.com/strategy) — The principles that follow from the rules, not from habit. - [How it works](https://hexodic.com/how-it-works) — The whole turn, in plain language. ## Questions this page answers - What is Project in Hexodic? - When can you move a stone in Hexodic?