[pbmserv] New game: Ndengrod

[Cameron Browne <cameron.browne@btinternet.com>]

Hi,

A new game Ndengrod has been added to the server. Make 5-in-a-row, 
pieces with no freedom are captured.

PBeM help page: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/ndengrod.html
Graphic web UI: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/List.php?Ndengrod

Those of you kind enough to participate in last year's game design 
survey may recognise it as one of the computer-generated games. It 
was in fact the evolved game ranked #1 by survey participants 
(Yavalath was #2).

Accepting all challenges:

  ndengrod challenge <you> camb
  ndengrod challenge camb <you>

Cameron

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Help for the Game of Ndengrod

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

     ndengrod challenge [-size=number] [-length=number] userid1 userid2

   starts a new game for two players.

   The -size parameter specifies the number of cells along each side of the
   board (default 5).
   The -length parameter specifies the target line length (default 5).

  Introduction

   Ndengrod is an abstract strategy game for two players in which players
   strive to make a line of 5 pieces of their colour.

  Rules

   The board is initially empty. Players take turns placing a piece of their
   colour on an empty cell.

   After each move, all same-coloured groups that are surrounded (i.e. no
   member is adjacent to an empty cell) are captured and removed from the
   board. Surrounded enemy groups are captured first then surrounded friendly
   groups, hence a move may create its own freedom.

   A player wins by making a line of 5 or more pieces of their colour.

   The following example shows a game won by X who has formed a line of 5 'x'
   pieces.
            1 2 3 4 5
           / / / / / 6
                    / 7
     a-  . . . . .   / 8
    b-  . . . . . .   / 9
   c-  . . . x o . .   /
  d-  . . x . x . . .
 e-  . . o . o x . . .
  f-  . . o o . x . .
   g-  . . x . o x .
    h-  . . . . . .
     i-  . . . . .

Notes

   It may at first appear difficult to form 5-in-a-row on such a small board,
   however the fact that surrounded pieces are captured means that 
at least one
   player's blocking pieces will eventually be captured, opening up the board
   for further line development.

Syntax

   The move syntax is:

     ndengrod move board# userid password d3

   This command places a piece of the current player's colour at position d3.

  History

   Ndengrod rules by Ludi by Cameron Browne and copyright (c) Cyberite Ltd,
   2008.

   Ndengrod was designed by machine. The rules were created by a programme
   called Ludi that evolves rule sets from existing games into new 
combinations
   then measures the resulting rule sets to determine whether they actually
   constitute viable games and, if so, how likely they are to be of 
interest to
   human players. The original rules specify that the game be played on a
   trapezoidal board, however changing the board shape to the more 
familiar and
   symmetrical hexagonal shape should not significantly affect play.

   The name "Ndengrod" was randomly created from a list of Tolkien-style word
   forms by a Markovian process.

   Implementation and Help file by Cameron Browne, Aug 2008.