VERY SLOWLY PROGRESSIVE Y

Progressive Y (with the drop restriction of just one piece per friendly group per turn) with the following move sequence:1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 8 8 8...

Game:

1.  k7 (X started)
2.  n8 k9
3.  j8 g9
4.  k5 n6
5.  m5 m7 f10
6.  m9 q9 h8  l6
7.  h6 o7 f8  o9
8.  h4 p6 p8  g7
9.  i3 i5 i9  l4  i11
10  i7 q7 h10 b10 m11 e11
11  j4 c9 j10 n10 t10 q11
12  m3 j2 o11 s11  j6 e9
13  l2 f6 l10 r10 c11
14  e6 d10 ...and wins next move.

Final position:

abcdefghijklmnopqrs
          .            1
         o x           2
        x . o          3
       o x x .         4
      . x o x .        5
     x x o o o o       6
    o o o x x x o      7
   . x o x . o o .     8
  x o x x o o x o .    9
 o o x o x x x . x x  10
. x o . x . o o x o . 11
abcdefghijklmnopqrstu 12

In most games (Go, Hex, Y, Moku...) the progressive variant without any restriction does not provide a propoer strategic background. In our experience, a progressive mutator sequence (and there are several, as we already saw during this blog) does have a very good partner, the group restriction mutator. Using both, each multiple drop within a turn is balanced so that no group of connected pieces is extended by more than one piece (except, of course, when two groups merge by placing one stone inbetween).

Y using the Lovely mutator

LOVELY modifier: along with one's own stone one must play an opponent
===============  stone as (euclidean) close as possible to one's own

                             ooo      xxx
                            ---------------
          .             1.  k7,j6    l6,k5
         . .            2.  n8,o9    i7,h6
        . . .           3.  j10,i11  g7,f6
       . . . .          4.  g9,f10   h10,g11
      . . o . .         5.  m9,n10   m11,o11
     o o x x . .        6.  k11,l10  k9,l8
    . x x o . . .       7.  resign
   . . . . o o . .      8.
  . . o . x o x . .     9.
 . . x x o x x . . .   10.
. . . o x o x o . . .  11.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstu

This mutator is based on Vincent Everaert's In Love Gomoku. One problem, imho, with In-Love mutator is that it permits tabu cells, ie, isolated cells where it's not legal to drop pieces. This tabu cells can produce much more drawish games (which seems the case with Gomoku). Using a closer cell to place the enemy stone, tabu cells are eliminated while still allowing all the tactical possibilities of the original mutator.

WHISTLING TRICOLEUR

* On each turn, a player must either move or capture.
* A move is any number of unoccupied spaces in a straight line.
A moved piece must end geometrically closer to at least one enemy piece.
* A capture is either
(a) by whistling: a piece moves as above, and any enemy piece of the
appropriate colour which was adjacent to the line of movement,
but not adjacent to the starting or finishing cell, is removed.
But only A takes B takes C takes A.
(b) by crushing: a piece adjacent to any enemy may capture and replace it.
* Capture is compulsory, but it is mover's choice among alternatives.
* A player loses when he has no pieces left.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABC
1 . . . a c . . . 1
2 . . . . b . . . . 2
3 . . . . . . . . . . 3
4 A . . . . . . . . . C 4
5 B C . . . . . . . . A B 5
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
11 b a . . . . . . . . c b 1
12 c . . . . . . . . . a 2
13 . . . . . . . . . . 3
14 . . . . B . . . . 4
15 . . . C A . . . 5
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABC
This is one game with a scissor-rock-paper mechanism, where fights must be carefully balanced with pieces of different status in order to succeed.

[update May 2011] There is an older, 1990, game called Tanagra that uses a similar capture mechanism.

CHICKEN GOMOKU (yet another sample game)

Black must make a 5-in-a-row, White must prevent him.
Both players play black moves until one declares
to be black, simultaneously passing.
Then alternation as usual starting with white.

a b c d e f g h i 0. J: e5 f3 h9 B takes x
. . . . . . . . . 1. e4 d5 10. f3 b3
. . . o o x x . . 2. c5 d4 11. a3 h5
o x x x x o x . . 3. f6 d6 12. f5 h4
. . . x o o o x . 4. d7 g3 13. h6 RESIGN
. . o x x o x x . 5. f4 g2
. . . x o o . o . 6. e2 g5
. . . o . . . . . 7. g4 d3
. . . . . . . . . 8. d2 c3
. . . . . . . x . 9. e6 e3

CHICKEN-CHESS (a complete game)

Initially white has no king and two queens.
The goal is for white to capture the king, black to prevent this.
Otherwise FIDE rules; castling permitted whenever neither piece has moved.

All moves (alternating) go to black in the first phase.
Any player, may optionally, on his move, take the black army and pass.
Then the other player moves with White and regular play begins.

1. B starts: e5,Nf6,Bb4,0-0,B:d2,B:e1,B:f2,J takes black
2. Nf3    Re8
3. e4     N:e4
4. Qd5    Nd6
5. Bg5    Re7
6. B:e7   Q:e7
7. N:e5   Nc6
8. Ng4    Bb6
9  Bd3    Nb4
10. Qh5    N:d3
11. c:d3    h6            
12. Nc3     Qg5          
13. Q:g5    h:g5          
14. h4      g:h4          
15. R:h4    Bd4        
16. Rah1    f5        
17. Nd5     f:g4      
18. Rh8+    Kf7        
19. Rf1+    Bf6        
20. Re1     b5        
21. N:c7   Rb8  
22. Nd5    Nf5  
23. Re8    Bb7  
24. Rhf8+  Kg6  
25. Nf4+   Kg5
26. R:b8   Bc6
27. Ne2    B:b2
28. g3     Be5
29. Rbe8   Bd6
30. Rh8    N:g3
31. N:g3   B:g3
32. Rhg8   g6
33. Re3    Bf4
34. B resigns

. . . . . . R .
p . . p . . . .
. . b . . . p .
. p . . . . k .
. . . . . b p .
. . . O R . . .
O . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .

Trabsact Sagme Diaries

Silence is gold, stillness is time [T.Sagme, Meditations]