[pbmserv] New game: Warship

[Cameron Browne <cameronb@optusnet.com.au>]

Hi,

A new game Warship has been added to the server.

camb

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Help For the Game Of Warship

Introduction

   Welcome to the network Warship server. The challenge command is
   described here. Other commands are the same as for all pbmserv games.

      warship challenge [-allfire] [-nosink] [-place]
                          userid1 userid2 [userid3] [userid4]

   Starts a new game between userid1, userid2... up to four players.

   The -allfire option specifies that every unsunk ship fires a shot per
   turn (maximum of 5 shots per turn).

   The -nosink option specifies that completely hit ships are not marked
   as sunk, adding an additional element of mystery. Each player gets
   three shots per round (unless the -allfire option dictates otherwise).

   The -place option allows players to manually place their five ships as
   their first move. For example "a1-a2,b1-b3,c1-c3,d1-d4,e1-e5"
   specifies five ship placements.

Introduction

   The battle has started but you're all at sea: you're wet, it's foggy,
   and you can't see a thing. The only rational course of action is to
   shoot randomly into the night and listen for explosions.

Rules

   Each player starts with five warships randomly placed on a 10x10 grid
   (hidden from opponents):
       1 x Aircraft carrier (5 units long)
       1 x Destroyer (4 units long)
       2 x Cruisers (3 units long)
       1 x Submarine (2 units long)

   Each turn the current player specifies a number of board coordinates
   to which they fire shots on all opponent's boards. Misses are marked
   '+', hits are marked 'x', and sunk ships are marked 'X' (unless the
   -nosink option is used).

   Players get one shot per turn unless the -allfire and/or -nosink
   options entitle them to more. Players must fire if possible, but do
   not have to use all of their allotted shots each turn. Players with no
   remaining floaters are skipped. The last remaining floater wins the
   game.

   The following board shows a battle in progress from nelson's
   perspective. Numbers in brackets indicate how many shots each player
   may currently fire.

     A B C D E F G H I J      A B C D E F G H I J

 10  . . . . . 3 . . . .  10  . . . . . . . . . .  10
  9  . . . . . x . . 4 .   9  . . . . . . . . . .   9
  8  . + 3 . + x + . 4 .   8  . . . x + . . + . .   8     + = Miss
  7  . . 3 . . + . . 4 .   7  . . . . . + X X X .   7
  6  . . 3 . . . . + 4 .   6  . + . + . . + . . .   6     x = Hit
  5  . . . . + . + . . .   5  . . . . . . . . . .   5
  4  . 5 5 x x 5 . . . .   4  . . X . . + . . . .   4     X = Sunk
  3  . + . . . . . + . .   3  . . X + . . . + . .   3
  2  . . 2 2 + . . . . .   2  . . . . . . . . . .   2
  1  . . . . . . . . . .   1  . . . . . . . . . .   1
          nelson (5)             villeneuve (3)
     A B C D E F G H I J      A B C D E F G H I J

Syntax

      warship move board# userid password f5
      warship move board# userid password g1,g2
      warship move board# userid password a2,g4,g7,d4,e3

References and History

   Warship is a traditional game of naval gazing, though the rather
   nasty multiplayer option may be novel.

   Implementation and help file by Cameron Browne, September 2004.