I own that game! Pretty sure the blue and red pieces are supposed to be for when you play the four-player version with the black and white for two-player.
The arrangement here would never happen in a real game (like random pieces on a chess board).
I also own this game. It's one of the few boards from my childhood that I still have. I remember it being engaging as a child but haven't revisited it in a long time.
It's called Terrace. Bought out at a garage sale in the 90s because the back of the box had a little "featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation" blurb that caught my attention. Really simple rules, but still a decent amount of strategy and complexity.
