Maybe Marek or Richard could tell us if they are planning new games in the near future or working on it?
On the other hand we are free to suggest or own.
.................
They are two kinds of new game possible. First (and easiest I guess) variations to existing games. I would like to see *) Pente *) Giant Soccer (see ruleset in Streetsoccer forum) *) 4ir with odd number of rows (8x9? gives another parity system) *) passreversi (where you can pass a move, and 2 passes ends the game with the player with most stones as winner). Other suggestions???????
....................
Secondly real new games. I would like to see *) other GIPF-games *) battleboats (if possible with another fleet than usual and certainly 2 patrols in that case) *) mancala, wari, (the african game with 2x28 beans).
Why not? Go on a turn-based server - what's the difference? Of course, games with exceptions to turn order (bombs in Tichu, for example) are tricky. Richard's PBEM Server runs Wizard, for example.
I would like to see Havannah. Players could then experience a range of connection games, TwixT, Hex and Havannah; ranging from more "Chess like" to more "Go like".
Yea, Chess like. Twixt is much more chess like than Hex. In chess you have a number of different pieces each with its own peculiarities, strengths and weaknesses. In Twixt you have a variety of connectable extensions, each with its own peculiarities, strenghes and weaknesses. The 3-1 extension has a very vicsious nature and it often occurs at the heart of many of the sharper tactics. But more recently I have discovered that even the more placid long range 4-0 extension can have a bit of a dark side.( I got a few upset wins against some stronger opponents with this extension )
Hex seems much more homogeneous and subtle. But both it and TwixT feel like pretty vicsious games. Following the logic of the tactics in these games can teach you a lot about the games in a short time.
But in Havannah you do not have the same sharp tactics. As in Go, it is up to you to pit your ideas against those of your opponent. The rules of the game behave as a referee who adjudicates on the relative fitness of the opposing ideas. The tactics of Go and Havannah seem to have the same lack of a driving logic behind them. In Go this means you can flounder around for years in the absence of help from more informed player who have absorbed some of the "spirit of Go". Havannah shares this same lack of apparent urgency with Go. But in contrast to Go, in Havannah novices playing to gether can feel as though they have followed quite clever little novice plans :-) Or at least I do. I think that Havannah would be a better "spouse's game" than TwixT or Hex :-)
Havannah sounds very interesting. I searched for it's rules on the net and I found things which make me wanting to try it. It's like Hex but with something more strategy from Go.
Would anyone be interested in playing Alex Randolph's Ricochet Robots on Little Golem? I'm not sure whether it can be adapted to an online platform, but I've always enjoyed playing it.
I also like Havannah, and Hexade, also invented by Christian Freeling. What I would really like to see, of course, is the real Twixt ruleset to replace this radioactive mutant "TwixtPP." Once that is done, there are some Twixt variants players might enjoy. You can see screen shots here and here (scroll to the bottom.)
I'll put a vote in for Havannah. Earlier this summer my brother came out to visit me from Colorado and we played this often. We couldn't get enough of it.
Would anyone be interested in playing Alex Randolph's Ricochet Robots on Little Golem? I'm not sure whether it can be adapted to an online platform, but I've always enjoyed playing it.
I think that's a great idea. Games with simultaneous player turns are very good for online play.
There are so many good games around - so it is hard to suggest only one. Those already mentioned are very good, so I'd like to add for discussion from one of the best game books (A Gammut of Games)
The latest version of Tablut is called "Die Wikinger kommen" (sorry, I don't know the English/American title). It's an absolutely fantastic game - Alex Randolph once said it was his favourite ... Would be very nice to have it here indeed!
I think Qiang'qi or Shogi would make great additions to this site-- if they were added, they would have a permanent place on my "Current Games" list :)
Take a look at the extensive games list you can play by email via www.gamerz.net. I think LoA or ToW, or susan or plotto or coneutron are nice games to have here...
My personal opinion is that Arimaa is the one of the worst games ever devised by man or computer, both for human and computer players. There are so many games that are (still) difficult for computers to play, like go, hex, twixt and so many others. Why devise an ugly one?
Well, that Arimaa is ugly is an interesting topic. It seems rather subjective to me, what an ugly game is. I know some games that seem interesting only from the theoretical point of view, not to be played by humans. But I am not sure at all that Arimaa should be in this category. However, it is a rather new game, it is difficult to foresee the richness of the strategics that may arise in the long run.
I think it's not hard at all to device a game that is:
- playable for humans
- very difficult for programs
- humans are probably able to beat programs
However, it is very difficult to device a game that attracts humans. Only few game-designers manage that. I seriously doubt Arimaa is here to stay and last.
Zertz from Kris Burm is a game that has attracted humans and still attracts humans. To my knowledge humans still outperform the best programs (very few or none). Also the game is not "sought", not deliberately created to be hard for computers, which Arimaa clearly is. I think that is the main hurdle for Arimaa to become a success.
Little Golem