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Help For Cephalopod
Introduction
Welcome to the network Cephalopod server. The rules of Cephalopod are below. The Cephalopod "challenge" command is described here. Other commands are the same for all pbmserv games.
Current games can be viewed here.
- cephalopod challenge userid1 userid2
- Start a new game between userid1 and userid2
Cephalopod Rules
(Copyright (c) 2007 Mark Steere <mark@marksteeregames.com>)AUTHOR'S NOTE: Feel free to distribute this document.
Introduction
Cephalopod is a two player game which employs a 5x5 board, 24 dice of one color, and 24 dice of another color. The board starts out vacant as shown in Figure 1. Mark Steere invented Cephalopod on February 25, 2006.
A B C D E
5 ... ... ... ... ... 5
4 ... ... ... ... ... 4
3 ... ... ... ... ... 3
2 ... ... ... ... ... 2
1 ... ... ... ... ... 1
A B C D E
Figure 1 -- 5x5 Cephalopod Board - Initially Empty
Basic Placement
Players take turns adding dice of their own color to the board, one die per turn. A newly placed die must show a one, unless it’s a capturing placement, in which case it must show a two or higher. Each player will always have a placement available and must make one. Players cannot pass on their turn.Object of the Game
Once the board has been completely filled, the player whose dice occupy the majority of the squares wins. Draws and ties cannot occur in Cephalopod.Capturing Placement
If a die is placed horizontally or vertically adjacent (hereafter “adjacent”) to two dice, and the sum of the pip counts (number of spots on the top surface of a die) on those two adjacent dice is six or less, then the currently played die must show the pip sum of its two adjacent dice, and the player must remove those two adjacent dice from the board immediately, while it is still his turn. In Figure 2 Paren places a two in the center of the board, and thereby captures the two ones. Captured dice are returned to their owners.
... (1) ... ... ... ...
... ... <1> ... (2) ...
... ... ... ... ... ...
Figure 2 -- Paren plays a two in the center, capturing two ones.
Similarly, if a die is placed adjacent to three or four dice, and if two, three, or four of its
adjacent dice have a pip sum of six or less, then two, three, or four of those adjacent
dice (whose pip sum is six or less) must be removed, and the played die must show the
pip sum of the removed dice. In Figure 3, Angle plays a six in the center of the board
and thereby captures all four adjacent dice whose pip sum is six (1+1+1+3=6).
(1) <1> ... (1) ... ...
<1> ... (3) ... <6> ...
... (1) ... ... ... ...
Figure 3 -- Angle playes a six in the center, capturing four dice.
In Figure 4 Angle decides to capture the two ones. So he places a two in the top
center square adjacent to the two ones, and removes them.
(1) ... <4> ... <2> <4>
... (1) ... ... ... ...
... (5) ... ... (5) ...
Figure 4 -- Angle playes a two in the top center square, capturing the two ones.
Captures are mandatory only when placing a die onto a square from which captures
are possible.
Non-Capturing Placement
A player can make a non-capturing placement simply by adding a die to a square from which no captures are possible. A non-capturing placement must show a single pip. In Figure 5 Angle places a die in the right center square. The only adjacent dice are a five and a two. The five and two cannot be captured since their sum is greater than six (5+2=7). Angle’s placement is therefore non-capturing and must show a one.
(1) ... ... (1) ... ...
<3> (2) ... <3> (2) <1>
... (1) <5> ... (1) <5>
Figure 5 -- Angle plays a one in the center right square, a non-capturing move.
Players always begin their turn by adding a die. Only dice which are adjacent to the
currently added die, and whose pip sum equals the pip count of the currently added die
may be removed during the current turn.
Multi-Player Cephalopod
Cephalopod can be played by more than two players. When the board has been completely filled, the player whose dice occupy the majority of the squares wins. If there is a tie for first place, then the last place player is eliminated, his dice are removed from the board, and the game continues among the remaining players. So in a three player game for example, if a score of 9,9,7 is reached, the player with seven dice is eliminated, his seven dice are removed from the board, and the game continues between the two remaining players.If there is a tie for first place and a tie for last place, then the last place players are eliminated, their dice are removed from the board, and the game continues among the remaining players. So in a five player game for example, if a score of 6,6,5,4,4 is reached, the players with four dice are eliminated, their eight dice are removed from the board, and the game continues among the three remaining players.
