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[pbmserv] New game: Orion
Orion is a gaming system with which dozens of different games can be
played. The board contains twenty five overlapping rotors that players
click to move pieces around.
It was invented in the 1970s and feels like one of the Rubik's puzzles that
were all the rage at the time. Only the game Hydra has been implemented so
far, but if there's any interest in Orion I'll look at adding other games.
Orion is a bit of a departure. After a few snide comments about the number
of connection games added to the server recently I thought it was time
to... hang on, it *is* a connection! Damn, how about that?
orion challenge [yourname] camb
orion challenge camb [yourname]
Cameron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Help For the Game Of Orion
Introduction
Welcome to the network Orion server. The Orion challenge command
starts a new game between userid1 and userid2. Other commands are the
same as for all pbmserv games.
orion challenge [-clicks=number] [-game=gamename] userid1 userid2
The -clicks parameter overrides the default number of clicks per turn
for the current game. This can be any number between 1 and 6.
The -game parameter specifies which Orion is to be played. The
following games are currently supported: Hydra. The default game is
Hydra if no game name is specified.
The Board
The Orion board is actually a game system on which a number of
different games can be played. The board itself consists of twenty
five overlapping rotors labelled 'a' to 'y'.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( a ) | ( b ) | ( c ) | ( d ) | ( e ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( f ) | ( g ) | ( h ) | ( i ) | ( j ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( k ) | ( l ) | ( m ) | ( n ) | ( o ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( p ) | ( q ) | ( r ) | ( s ) | ( t ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( u ) | ( v ) | ( w ) | ( x ) | ( y ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Each rotor has four surrounding slots within its orbit. Each slot is
an eye shape which may contain a single piece.
Clicking a rotor in 90 degreee increments in either the clockwise (+)
or anticlockwise (-) directions will move any pieces within its orbit.
For instance, the 'O' piece in the following example is shuffled from
rotor 'a' to rotor 'b' by clicking 'a' once clockwise then clicking
'b' once anticlockwise. This move is denoted "a+b-".
OOOOO ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | X .-. O .-. | X .-. | .-. |
| ( a ) | ( b ) | X ( a ) O ( b ) | X ( a ) | ( b ) |
| `-` | `-` | X `-` O `-` | X `-` | `-` |
XXXXX ----- ----- ----- ----- OOOOO
General Rules
1. Once pieces are placed at their starting positions they may only be
moved by turning the appropriate rotors.
2. Players may turn only those rotors whose orbits contains at least
one of their pieces.
3. Players must continue to move the same piece throughout the
duration of their move.
4. Players are not obliged to use their full number of clicks per
turn, and may use fewer clicks or no clicks at all (pass).
5. Players may not make a move which simply reverses the opponent's
last move. [Note: This check is not implemented yet.]
Starndard Starting Sequence: Most Orion games allow several clicks per
turn. However, in all cases the first turn consists of a one-click
move, the second turn consists of a two-click move, etc... until the
total number of clicks for that game is reached.
always be an odd number of external neighbours hence draws
are not possible.
The Games
The following Orion games have been implemented.
1. Hydra
Each payer starts with sixteen pieces set out as follows. 'X' plays
first. Players have three clicks per turn after the standard starting
sequence.
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO
O .-. O .-. O .-. O .-. O .-. O
O ( a ) O ( b ) O ( c ) O ( d ) O ( e ) O
O `-` O `-` O `-` O `-` O `-` O
OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( f ) | ( g ) | ( h ) | ( i ) | ( j ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( k ) | ( l ) | ( m ) | ( n ) | ( o ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( p ) | ( q ) | ( r ) | ( s ) | ( t ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
X .-. X .-. X .-. X .-. X .-. X
X ( u ) X ( v ) X ( w ) X ( x ) X ( y ) X
X `-` X `-` X `-` X `-` X `-` X
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
The first player to form a connected chain of their pieces between
their edge of the board and the opposite edge wins the game. The
following example shows a winning chain for 'X'.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
| .-. | .-. X .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( a ) | ( b ) X ( c ) | ( d ) | ( e ) |
| `-` | `-` X `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- XXXXX ----- -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. X .-. | .-. |
| ( f ) | ( g ) | ( h ) X ( i ) | ( j ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` X `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- XXXXX -----
| .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. X .-. |
| ( k ) | ( l ) | ( m ) | ( n ) X ( o ) |
| `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` X `-` |
----- XXXXX ----- XXXXX -----
| .-. X .-. X .-. X .-. | .-. |
| ( p ) X ( q ) X ( r ) X ( s ) | ( t ) |
| `-` X `-` X `-` X `-` | `-` |
----- ----- XXXXX ----- -----
| .-. X .-. | .-. | .-. | .-. |
| ( u ) X ( v ) | ( w ) | ( x ) | ( y ) |
| `-` X `-` | `-` | `-` | `-` |
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Move Syntax
'X' moves first. The move syntax is:
orion move board# userid password click[click][click]...
Where each click is of the form "rotor/direction", for example:
orion move board# userid a+ (click rotor 'a' once cw)
orion move board# userid a+a+a+ (click rotor 'a' three times cw)
orion move board# userid a+++ (click rotor 'a' three times cw)
orion move board# userid b--c+ ('b' twice acw then 'c' once cw)
Players may also pass (moving one rotor + then - has the same effect):
orion move board# userid password pass
Other commands are the same as for all pbmserv games.
History
Orion was invented in the 1970s. A scanned copy of the complete rules
can be found at the Hasbro site:
http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Orion.PDF
The Unofficial Orion Home Page contains an interesting look at the
game with some nice photographs and descriptions:
http://www.ludism.org/orion/
Implementation and help file by Cameron Browne, December 2003.