One variant of the game has all edge moves played from the start. Who do you think has the winning strategy in that case on a 5x5? Also, is anyone up for a game? Or is there a simple winning strategy?
It does seem hard for several chains to appear since each chain has to have end-point in rings.
i played that once against a total beginner; i was player 1 and i would have lost if my opponent knew the all-but-two-trick. it's impossible for p1 to accomplish anything really.
Would it be reasonable to play on a larger board (since a lot of moves have already been played and it seems like it would give more room to play around with.