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[pbmserv] New game: QuadY
Hello,
A new game QuadY (short for "Quadrant Y") has been added to the server.
This is a connection game based on Steven Meyers' very nice game Quadrant Hex.
Cameron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Help For the Game Of Quadrant Y
Introduction
Welcome to the network Quadrant Y server. The rules of Quadrant Hex
are given below. The challenge command is described here. Other
commands are the same for all pbmserv games.
quady challenge [-size=number] userid1 userid2
Start a new game between userid1 and userid2
The -size parameter sets the overall board size. This must be an even
number in the range 5..31 (the default being 15).
Rules
First let's recap the game of Y, which is played on a hexagonally
tiled triangle. Two players, X and O, take turns placing a piece of
their colour on an empty point, and the first player to connect all
three sides with a chain of their colour wins. Eactly one player must
win.
Quadrant Y is identical to standard Y except that in addition to the
standard game the board is divided into four smaller triangles, each
containing a subgame played according to the same rules. The perimeter
of each subgame is marked '+' (subgames share borders with
neighbouring subgames).
1- +
2- + +
3- + . +
4- + . . +
5- + . . . +
6- + . . . . +
7- + . . . . . +
8- + + + + + + + +
9- + + . . . . . + +
10- + . + . . . . + . +
11- + . . + . . . + . . +
12- + . . . + . . + . . . +
13- + . . . . + . + . . . . +
14- + . . . . . + + . . . . . +
15- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
This gives a total of 5 pts: 1 pt for the standard game and 1 pt for
each of the four subgames. A player wins the overall game as soon as
they score 3 pts, which may involve winning the standard game plus at
least two subgames, or winning at least three subgames.
Example Game
The following example shows a game won by X.
+
+ x
+ x +
x x . +
o o x . +
+ x o x . +
+ . x o x . +
+ + + x o x + +
+ + . . x o x + x
x . + . x o o x x o
+ x . + x o . o o o +
+ . x x x o . x . . . x
+ . x o o o . + x x x x +
+ . x o . . + + . . . x . +
+ + x o + + + + + + + + x + +
Even though O has won the standard game by connecting all three sides
(plus one subgame), X has won three of the subgames to give them the 3
pts and the overall win. This can be demonstrated by examining each
subgame in isolation:
+
+ x
+ x +
x x . +
o o x . +
+ x o x . +
+ . x o x . +
+ + + x o x + +
+ + + x o x + +
+ . . x o x +
+ + . x o o x +
+ + + x o . o + x
x . + x o . x x x o
+ x . + o . + o o o +
+ . x x x + + x . . . x
+ . x o o o + + x x x x +
+ . x o . . + + . . . x . +
+ + x o + + + + + + + + + x + +
Notes
Exactly one player must win Quadrant Y.
The central (upside down) triangle may appear to the the strongest
subgame as it is the only one that touches all three sides. However,
winning this central subgame does not necessarily help a player, as
demonstrated by the above example.
Quadrant Y applies the principle introduced in Steven Meyers' game
Quadrant Hex to Y. This principle constitutes a metarule that may be
applied to a number of connection games. This metarule may also be
recursively applied to any of the Quadrant game themselves, splitting
each subgame into four subsubgames for a total of 16 + 4 + 1 = 21 pts
up for grabs, and each subsubgame split further into four
subsubsubgames for a total of 64 + 16 + 4 + 1 = 85 pts, and so on.
Syntax
X moves first. The move syntax is:
quady move <board#> <username> <password> F6
Place a piece at coordinate F6, which must be empty.
quady move <board#> <username> <password> swap
Swap X's opening move (second move only).
References and History
Quadrant Y rules by Cameron Browne, March 2005.
Implementation and help file by Cameron Browne, March 2005.