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[pbmserv] Barticus wants Stymie and ConHex challenges
Just after the Quoridor tournament started, I got a serious brain cramp and
started blowing a lot of games. I wasn't starting games for a couple weeks
to give me an opportunity to rest. Now that the Quoridor Tournament is
over (for me) and all my other games have ended (including a couple of
miraculous comebacks) I am starting a huge bunch of games. I already
started 14 Stymie games and 8 ConHex games, but I want MORE! I try to move
every day in every game. I am expecting that a couple of these players
won't want to play, and that some of these players won't move every day,
but if I end up needing to make 30 moves some days, then I will make 30 moves.
Cameron has inflicted so many new connection games on the server that they
start to all look the same. There are two new connection games which IMO
are a cut above your ordinary connection games: Stymie and ConHex.
Stymie was invented by Randall Bart. It is a connection game played on
Archimedean 488 tiling. The designation 488 means that ever vertex is the
meeting of one square (the 4) and two octagons (8s). A normal move
consists of occupying two spaces, an adjacent square and octagon. As the
game progresses, there will occur an octagon with no adjacent square or a
square with no adjacent octagon. You may make a single move to fill such a
space, but there is a penalty: On you opponent's next move he may occupy
three spaces (an octagon and two adjacent squares or a square and two
adjacent octagons). A cut off space where paths cross is called a Stymie,
because both players want to move there, but you dare not until you are
sure that you opponent can't kill you with a triple move.
The Stymie rule bears a similarity to the ko rule in Go. Normal action is
based on adjacency, but the Stymie rule causes action in one place to
impact action everywhere else on the board. One of the weaknesses of
connection games is that action tends to converge on a particular
spot. The Stymie rule spreads the action around, leading to a richer
middle game.
Stymie does not (yet) have a swap rule, and the first player has a slight
advantage. You may challenge me in singles or pairs:
Stymie challenge barticus <you>
Stymie challenge <you> barticus
Rules: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/stymie.html
ConHex was invented by Michail Antonow. It's a connection game played on
an array of warped hexagons wrapped around a central square. Like TwixT,
action is occurring on two levels. An individual move claims a vertex, but
vertices themselves don't build your chain. By taking three vertices of a
hexagon or two vertices of an edge space you claim the space, in an effort
to build a chain of spaces across the board.
One of the weaknesses of connection games is that the center is more
valuable than the edges. Because it takes only two moves to capture an
edge space in ConHex, action is drawn from the center to the edges, making
the value of spaces more even across the board.
ConHex has a swap rule, which makes the game very well balanced. You may
challenge me in singles or pairs:
ConHex challenge barticus <you>
ConHex challenge <you> barticus
Rules: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/conhex.html
Several years ago, I was asked to list the ten best games of all time. I
listed Go as number one and TwixT and number two, and commented that those
two were far above all the others. These games are already in my top ten,
and while they are not (yet) seriously threatening the top two of my
pantheon, you will note they each have elements which remind me of the
richness of those venerable games.
--
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