A Game of Thrones
| White | Black |
|---|---|
| 1. S c2-c5 | |
| Here we go! If you're not ready to play yet, this'll wait OK | |
| 1. n b7-a5 | |
| Peter, I tried to add the rules to the comments for reference, but the script fails. Tony | |
| 2. G c1-c3 | |
| Well, since the rules aren't on-line anywhere, I wouldn't expect that to work. | |
| 2. s d6-d3 | |
| Peter, if its ok with you, I will add the rules incrementally to the comments field, so I don't have to open the file again and again!! Apparently, the script allows a limited number of characters. The Rules for Thrones. by Peter Aronson. Thrones is a boardgame where the goal is to either to capture your opponent's king, or to have your king occupy your opponent's throne square. Thrones borrows elements from the old Viking game of Hnefatafl (Tablut), the Japanese game of Hasami Shogi, the Chinese games of Shap Luk Kon Tsu Tseung Kwan (Sixteen against the General), Xiangqi (Chinese or Elephant Chess), and Go, the Egyptian game of Seega and Chess. PIECES: Each player has fourteen pieces: seven soldiers (s), two cannons (c), two knights (n), two generals (g), and a king (k). All pieces can slide -- that is, move in an orthogonal (left, right, up or down) direction any number of unoccupied squares. All pieces can capture by smothering (see CAPTURE below). Each type of piece has additional capabilities: Soldiers: Soldiers capture by smothering or sandwiching. Instead of sliding, a soldier can "hop" by jumping over a piece. The piece jumped over may belong to either side, and is not captured unless the final position of the soldier causes it to be captured by sandwiching or smothering. A soldier may not hop into a position in which it will be immediately smothered unless by doing so it causes a capture that leaves it an empty adjacent space (a liberty, in Go terms). A soldier may only hop over one other piece in a turn, and the hop must be orthogonal. | |
| 3. S e2-e3;@-d3 | |
| Custodian capture, you know. That has got to be one of the weirdest ways of publishing rules I ever heard, of, but no, I don't mind if you do that. Me, I just printed out a copy, and are leaving them next to the computer. | |
| 3. n a5-c4;@-c5; | |
| Custodian capture on c5. Cannons: Capture by bombardment or smothering; they are the only piece that can not capture by sandwiching. When capturing by bombardment a cannon uses a special move, jumping over exactly one friendly piece and landing on the enemy piece some distance beyond. See below under CAPTURE for more details. Knights: Capture by sandwiching and smothering. Knights have two special abilities: the ability to make a special move - the knight's leap - of any combination of one diagonal and one orthogonal single square move that does not end with the knight adjacent (diagonally or orthogonally) to its original position (passing over other pieces if necessary), and the ability to make repeated capturing moves. That is, a knight may make any number of moves in a single turn (either slides or leaps), as long as each move in turn results in the capture of one or more enemy pieces. A knight may always make a single non-capturing move (assuming it has a place to go), and is never required to make multiple moves. Like a soldier, a knight may not use its special move to place itself in a smothered position unless a capture results that yeilds a liberty. Generals: Can capture by sandwiching and smothering, and also have the ability to capture soldiers, knights or cannons by Intervention -- that is, by moving between them. See below under CAPTURE for more details. | |
| 4. G c3-d3 | 4. s e6-d6 |
| Interesting game Peter. Lots of unique features, from the movement to multiple capture types. Kings are the only piece that can occupy throne squares (although other pieces can pass through them). Kings can only be captured by smothering attacks. Pieces are white for one side, and black for the other (in this document, white pieces are represented by plain letters, and black pieces by underlined letters). PLAY: White moves first. Play alternates with each player being required to move one piece each turn. The game is over when either king is captured, or when black moves their king onto white's throne. However, when white moves their king onto blacks's throne square, black gets one more move, during which if they either occupy white's throne or take white's king, they achieve a draw. No player may make a move that recreates a prior board position (this is what is called the superko rule in Go). In other words, a sequence of moves that ends up with all of the same types of pieces in the same positions is not allowed, and a player may not make such a move that would result in such a position. CAPTURE: There are four ways enemy pieces may be captured: by sandwiching (custodian capture or interception), by bombardment, by intervention, and by smothering. Only pieces to the left, right, top or bottom of a piece may be involved in capturing a piece - diagonal pieces don't count. | |
| 5. S d2-d4 | |
| The question is -- are attacks practical, or does defense trump attack? | |
| 5. n c4-a5 | |
| Kings: Can capture by sandwiching and smothering. Kings have the ability to conquer; that is, to win the game by entering their opponent's throne square. Kings are the only piece that can occupy throne squares (although other pieces can pass through them). Kings can only be captured by smothering attacks. Pieces are white for one side, and black for the other (in this document, white pieces are represented by plain letters, and black pieces by underlined letters). PLAY: White moves first. Play alternates with each player being required to move one piece each turn. The game is over when either king is captured, or when black moves their king onto white's throne. However, when white moves their king onto blacks's throne square, black gets one more move, during which if they either occupy white's throne or take white's king, they achieve a draw. No player may make a move that recreates a prior board position (this is what is called the superko rule in Go). In other words, a sequence of moves that ends up with all of the same types of pieces in the same positions is not allowed, and a player may not make such a move that would result in such a position. | |
| 6. S e3-e5 | 6. g e7-e6 |
| CAPTURE: There are four ways enemy pieces may be captured: by sandwiching (custodian capture or interception), by bombardment, by intervention, and by smothering. Only pieces to the left, right, top or bottom of a piece may be involved in capturing a piece - diagonal pieces don't count. Sandwiching: A piece is captured by sandwiching when there is an enemy piece or exit square on either side of it. More than one piece can be captured this way as the result of a single move. All pieces except kings can be captured by sandwiching, and all pieces except cannons can participate in such captures. Note that a piece can safely move between two enemy pieces without being captured, it is only when an enemy piece completes the formation that a piece is captured. Bombardment: Only cannons can capture by bombardment. A cannon must jump over a single friendly piece, any distance in a straight line away, landing on a single enemy piece any distance away in that same line. The cannon may not jump over more than one friendly piece, or over any enemy pieces (this is different than Xiangqi where either a cannon can jump over either a friendly or enemy piece). | |
| 7. G d3-b3 | 7. n a5-b7 |
| Intervention: A soldier, knight or cannon is captured by intervention when an enemy general moves between it and another friendly piece; if both pieces on either side of the general are soldiers, knights or cannons, then both are captured. Smothering: Smothering is like capture in Go - when a collection of connected pieces is completely surrounded by a combination of any of: the edge of the board, a hostile throne square (the other side's throne square is always hostile, and your own throne square is hostile when your king is not on it) and enemy pieces, and contains no empty squares within (eyes), it is smothered and removed from the board. However, a collection of pieces that have an empty space within their formation (what is called an eye in Go) can not be captured by smothering. More than one type of capture can be used in a single move. No pieces are removed until smothering is determined. | |
| 8. S e5-b5 | 8. n f7-g5 |
| 9. N b1-c3 | 9. n g5-e4 |
| 10. N c3-c4 | |
| This is what I was afraid of with this game -- captures are too darn hard. | |
| 9. n g5-e4 | |
| Peter, I am resending my move 9 because my ISP went down (filed for chapter 11), so I will use Claire's account unti ATT can figure out what to do! | |
| 10. N c3-c4 | 10. n e4-g5 |
| Peter, could you have captured my knight by S f2-f4 instead? -- Tony | |
| 11. N f1-g3 | |
| I could have, but your General could have then executed a double capture. | |
| 11. s c6-c5 | |
| Right. Actually, this is interesting. Like you said, thought, it is very strong for the defense. On the other hand, there are very interesting offensive tactics. | |
| 12. C a1-c1 | 12. c a7-a2 |
| 13. C c1-c5 | 13. n b7-c5;c5-b3;b3-d4;d4-b5 |
| Peter, did I interpret the Knight multiple capture correctly?! --Tony | |
| 13. s f6-f4 | |
| 14. G b3-a3 | 14. c a2-a1 |
| 15. G a3-a2 | 15. c a1-b1 |
| 16. N c4-c1 | 16. n g5-e4 |
| 17. C c5-c4 | 17. n e4-c5 |
| 18. S b5-b4 | 18. n c5-b3 |
| 19. N g3-c3 | 19. s b6-b5;@-b4 |
| 20. G a2-a3;@-b3 | 20. g e6-e3 |
| 21. N c3-a1;@-b1 | 21. c g7-g2 |
| 22. N c1-e2 | 22. g e3-f3 |
| 23. N e2-g3;@-g2 | 23. g f3-b3;@-a3 |
| I've been using my home made set to test moves. I like it. | |
| 24. C c4-f4 | 24. g b3-f3;@-f2;@-f4;@-g3 |
| Knight captured by sandwich; cannon and champion captured by intervention. | |
| 22. g e3-g3 | |
| No problem. Can we restart from here? | |
| 23. G a3-f3 | |
| This is fine. | |
| 23. s g6-e6 | |
| 24. N e2-e3 | 24. g g3-g4 |
| 25. G f3-g3;@-g2 | 25. n b7-c5 |
| 26. C c4-f4 | 26. s e6-e4;@-f4 |
| 27. S f2-f4;@-e4 | 27. g g4-g5 |
| Peter, was there a reason you didn't capture my General? | |
| 28. C g1-g5 | 28. n c5-d3 |
| Whoops! I forgot that bombardment captures could be long distance. | |
| 29. K d1-d2;@-d3 | 29. s a6-a4 |
| 30. K d2-d1 | 30. g c7-c3 |
| 31. S f4-f5 | 31. s b5-b4 |
| 32. N a1-a3 | 32. s b4-b3 |
| 33. S f5-a5;@-a4 | 33. s b3-b6 |
| Well, let's see how long I can hold out! | |
| 34. N e3-e6 | 34. g c3-c6 |
| 35. C g5-g6 | 35. s d6-f6 | 35. s d6-f6 |
| Resent. | |
| 36. S a5-a7 | |
| Thanks! | |
| 36. k d7-d6;@-e6 | |
| 37. G e1-e6;@-f6 | 37. s b6-b7 |
| 38. S b2-b6 | 38. s b7-c7 | 38. s b7-c7 |
| Resent. | |
| 39. S a7-b7;@-c7 | |
| I don't know what happened to my last move -- I was sure I had made it. If you remember, exit squares and throne squares are the same thing, and take part in custodian capture. I am sorry if this was unclear -- if you want to make a different move, that's OK. | |
| 39. g c6-c5 | |
| I just forgot. This is the end anyway! | |
| 40. S b6-c6 | 40. k d6-d5 |
| 41. N a3-c4;@-c5 | 41. k d5-e5 |
| 42. S d4-d5 | 42. k e5-e4 |
| 43. G g3-e3 | 43. k e4-f4 |
| 44. S d5-f5 | 44. k f4-f3 |
| 45. K d1-d7;Victory | 45. @ |
| Whoops! Good game, Peter! So, are you going to publish it now?--Tony | |
Automatically Generated by play.php
Game begun at 8:04 PM on Mon, Nov. 19th, 2001
Last move made at 11:18 PM on Wed, Feb. 6th, 2002