New game: Bolabolo

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

Bolabolo is a drawless connection game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the intersections (points) of an initially empty square grid (board). The top and bottom edges of the board are colored black; the left and right edges are colored white. Each player must have access to a sufficient number of pawns of their own color and a sufficient number of black and white stones.

DEFINITIONS

A party is a pawn along with all pawns one can reach from it through a series of steps onto orthogonally adjacent pawns. Note a party can include pawns of both colors.

A party is said to be smothered if no pawn in it is orthogonally adjacent to an empty point.

PLAY

Black plays first, then turns alternate. On your turn, perform exactly one of the following actions:

* Place a pawn of your color on an empty point.

* Place a stone of your color on an empty point or on a point occupied by a pawn of either color. If the point is occupied by a pawn, move said pawn to an orthogonally adjacent point that is either empty or occupied by another pawn. The latter pawn is removed from the board. Next, replace all pawns in every smothered party with stones of the same color as the majority of pawns in that party. If a smothered party contains the same number of pawns of each color, replace them with stones of your opponent's color.

At the end of your turn, for any two diagonally adjacent stones of your color there must be another stone of your color adjacent to both.

You win if there is a chain of orthogonally connected stones of your color touching the two opposite board edges of your color.

To make the game fair, White will have the option, on their first turn only, to swap sides with Black instead of making a regular move.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

Correction: The rule

"Next, replace all pawns in every smothered party with stones of the same color as the majority of pawns in that party. If a smothered party contains the same number of pawns of each color, replace them with stones of your opponent's color."

should be preceded by a line break to indicate that it applies to pawn placements as well as stone placements.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

Possible revision, including a new name for the game:

Boloa is a drawless connection game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the intersections (points) of an initially empty square grid (board). The top and bottom edges of the board are colored black; the left and right edges are colored white. There is a sufficient supply of stones and pawns in each of the player's colors.

DEFINITIONS

A party is a pawn along with all pawns one can reach from it through a series of steps onto orthogonally adjacent pawns. Note a party can include pawns of both colors.

A liberty of a party is an empty point orthogonally adjacent to at least one pawn in the party. A party is said to be smothered if it has no liberties.

PLAY

Black plays first, then turns alternate. On your turn, perform exactly one of these actions:

* Place a pawn of your color on an empty point.

* Place a stone of your color on an empty point or on a point occupied by a pawn of either color. If the point is occupied by a pawn, move the pawn to a liberty of its party. Note this may split the party or merge it with another party.

Next, let every smothered party be claimed by whoever owns in said party the majority of groups of the largest size of which there is an unequal number of groups of each color in the party. If all group sizes are represented by an equal number of groups of each color in the party, the party is claimed by your opponent. To claim a party, replace all enemy pawns in it with friendly pawns.

At the end of your turn, for any two diagonally adjacent stones of your color there must be another stone of your color adjacent to both.

You win if there is a chain of orthogonally connected stones of your color touching the two opposite board edges of your color.

To make the game fair, White will have the option, on their first turn only, to swap sides with Black instead of making a regular move.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

Possible revision, including a new name for the game:

Boloa is a drawless connection game for two players: Black and White. It is played on the intersections (points) of an initially empty square grid (board). The top and bottom edges of the board are colored black; the left and right edges are colored white. There is a sufficient supply of stones and pawns in each of the player's colors.

DEFINITIONS

A chain is a piece along with all (identical) pieces one can reach from it through a series of steps onto orthogonally adjacent identical pieces.

A party is a pawn along with all pawns one can reach from it through a series of steps onto orthogonally adjacent pawns. Note a party can include multiple chains of pawns of both colors.

A liberty of a party is an empty point orthogonally adjacent to at least one pawn in the party. A party is said to be smothered if it has no liberties.

PLAY

Black plays first, then turns alternate. On your turn, perform exactly one of these actions:

* Place a pawn of your color on an empty point.

* Place a stone of your color on an empty point or on a point occupied by a pawn of either color. If the point is occupied by a pawn, move the pawn to a liberty of its party. Note this may split the party or merge it with another party.

Next, let every smothered party be claimed by whoever owns in said party the majority of chains of the largest size of which there is an unequal number of chains of each color in the party. If all chain sizes are represented by an equal number of chains of each color in the party, the party is claimed by your opponent. To claim a party, replace all enemy pawns in it with friendly pawns.

At the end of your turn, for any two diagonally adjacent stones of your color there must be another stone of your color adjacent to both.

You win if there is a chain of stones of your color touching the two opposite board edges of your color.

To make the game fair, White will have the option, on their first turn only, to swap sides with Black instead of making a regular move.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

The size of a chain is the number of pieces in it, of course.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

"To claim a party, replace all enemy pawns in it with friendly pawns."

I mean with friendly _stones_.

[Luis Bolaños Mures]

Post by Luis Bolaños Mures
To claim a party, replace all enemy pawns in it with friendly pawns.

Oops, this should be:

"To claim a party, replace all pawns in it with friendly stones."