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Help For Blackbox
Introduction
Welcome to the network Blackbox server. The rules for Blackbox are below. The challenge and move commands for Backgammon are described here. Other commands are the same for all pbmserv games.
Blackbox is a game inspired by Black Box which in turn was invented by Eric Solomon, 1976.Black Box Command Summary
blackbox challenge userid1 userid2
Start a new game between userid1 and userid2
blackbox move board userid password move
The first move of each player is to secretly place the four
atoms in your opponent's blackbox. To do this simply give the
row column (or column row) coordinates of your atoms separated
by commas. examples: b3,d3,8h,13n -or- 3b,3d,h8,n13 -these
are the same initial setups- examples: a1,a2,d4,d5 -or-
c2,f2,k8,k9
After the first secret initial placement of the atoms then
each move is as follows. Make a move. Each move may consist
of several elements separated by commas.
* shoot one probe into board
* add or delete atom markers from your board
* take a guess
Each element is optional but usually a player would always
shoot a probe into the board on every turn.
>shoot a probe: simply give the number or letter at the
location where you wish to shoot the probe from.
examples: 1 -or- a -or- j -or- 14
range of probes are 1 to 14 and a to n (case insensitive)
>add or delete an atom marker: when you think you know where
an atom is located, you may place an atom marker at a location
on the board by giving the plus sign followed by the row and
column coordinates of the atom marker.
examples: +a1 -or- +1a -or- +d7 -or- +8h
to delete an atom marker simply use the forward slash or
hyphen. NOTE: the hyphen will not work if the deletion is the
first element on the move string so it would be better to
always use the forward slash.
examples: /a1 -or- /8h -or- /d7 -or- /14m
you may add or delete as many atom markers as you wish in a
turn separated by commas
examples: +a1,/b2,+m13,+7g,/k3
placing atom markers do not count against you as a guess, they
are merely place markers so you can keep track of where your
opponent may have hidden his atoms on your board. (when you
take a guess then you will need exactly four (and only four)
atom markers on your board as to locate your guesses of where
your opponent placed his atoms.)
>take a guess: simply include a question mark in the command
line. you may only take one quess per turn and you only get
three quesses total per game. if you take three quesses and
fail to find all your opponent's atoms then your opponent will
automatically win. when a player takes a guess he should have
exactly 4 atom markers located on his board (add four atom
markers to your board). you may add or delete atom markers on
the same turn as your guess and the board will be updated
before the guess is calculated.
examples: ? -or- +a1,+d5,+8k,+3f,?
The first player to correctly guess the location of the four
atoms on their board before taking three incorrect guesses is
the winner.
Rules of Blackbox.
There is a black box before you and you cannot see where the
atoms are located inside. YOu may send in probes from any of
the 28 locations around the outside of the board to help you
guess where the atoms are located. If a probe (think of it as
a laser light probe) hits an atom dead on then it registers
with a hit sign (#). If the probe bounces back to the same
location it entered then it registers with a reflection sign
(%). Otherwise the probe may bounce off atoms and come out at
another location. This is signaled by corresponding letters
of the alphabet at both ends of the probe (a to a or b to b
and so on). It is your job to deduce where your opponent hid
the 4 atoms in your black box.
Here is how a probe bounces off an edge of an atom (the atom
is designated with an @). Think of a laser shooting a beam of
light from one letter then bouncing off the atom in the middle
of the board (making a 90 degree turn) and exiting the board
at the location of the corresponding letter (a to a, b to b, c
to c, or d to d)
|a | |b |
--|--|--|--|--
a | | | |b
--|--|--|--|--
| |@ | |
--|--|--|--|--
d | | | |c
--|--|--|--|--
|d | |c |
Here are examples of reflections of the probe. If the atom is
located on the very edge of the board then notice how a
reflection is signaled for a probe shot in right next to the
atom.
--|--|--|--|--
| | | |%
--|--|--|--|--
| | |@ |
--|--|--|--|--
% | | | |%
--|--|--|--|--
| | |@ |
--|--|--|--|--
| |% | |
Here is a game in progress. Player dzander1 has marked three
locations on his board where he thinks atoms are located
(+b2,+b4,+12m). These first two boards are from dzander1's
point of view. The board on the left is his board that he is
attempting to solve. The board on the right is his opponent's
board with the secret atom locations that dzander1 placed in
his opponent's board along with the guesses his opponent has
made (+c2,+m13) (The atom markers are marked with a question
mark.)
Player dzander1's board on left. Player dzander2's board on right.
A B C D E F G A B C D E F G
|d | | |b | |% | | | | | | | | |b |
|====================| |====================|
1|d | | | | | | | | |8 1| | | | | | | | | |8
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
2| | |? | | | | | |% |9 2| | | |?@| | @| | | |9
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
3| | | | | | | | |% |10 3|a | | | | | | | | |10
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
4| | |? | | | | | | |11 4| | | | | | | | | |11
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
5|a | | | | | |? | | |12 5|# | | | | | | | |b |12
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
6| | | | | | | | |c |13 6| | | | | | |?@| |# |13
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
7| | | | | | | | | |14 7| | | | | | | @| | |14
|====================| |====================|
|a | | |b | | |c | | |a |# | |% | | |
H I J K L M N H I J K L M N
Player dzander1 has 3 guesses left. Player dzander2 has 3 guesses left.
************************************************************
These two boards are views of dzander2's email. Notice that
dzander2 has sent 6 probes into the board so far and has
marked 2 of the 4 atoms in his board, while dzander1 has sent
7 probes into the board so far and has correctly marked the
locations of 3 of the 4 atoms in his board.
Player dzander2's board on left. Player dzander1's board on right.
A B C D E F G A B C D E F G
| | | | | | |b | |d | | |b | |% | |
|====================| |====================|
1| | | | | | | | | |8 1|d | | | | | | | @| |8
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
2| | | |? | | | | | |9 2| | |?@| | | | | |% |9
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
3|a | | | | | | | | |10 3| | | | | | | | |% |10
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
4| | | | | | | | | |11 4| | |?@| | | | | | |11
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
5|# | | | | | | | |b |12 5|a | | | | | |?@| | |12
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
6| | | | | | |? | |# |13 6| | | | | | | | |c |13
|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
7| | | | | | | | | |14 7| | | | | | | | | |14
|====================| |====================|
| |a |# | |% | | | |a | | |b | | |c |
H I J K L M N H I J K L M N
Player dzander2 has 3 guesses left. Player dzander1 has 3 guesses left.
************************************************************
