[pbmserv-dev] NFS: Restart command

[Randall Bart <Barticus@att.net>]

I would like to suggest a new option for Gamerz.net.  The ability to 
restart a game.

Syntax:

<game> challenge <player1> <player2> -restart=<board>[#<moveno>]

Semantics:

A new board of <game> is started.  The initial position is the state of 
board <board> just before turn <moveno>.  If <moveno> is omitted, the 
current, resigned, or forfeited position is assumed.

The new board is unrated.

Games with secret information (eg, Stratego) cannot be restarted.

The next player to move is <player1>.  If the game is restarting on an even 
move, this means player1 is player2 and vice-versa.  Eg,

chess challenge Fred George -restart=123#14

A new board is started.  The first 13 moves are duplicated from board 
123.  It is now turn 14, it is Fred's move.  Fred is black, George is white.

Comment:

When playing face-to-face among my friends, we frequently drop back to an 
earlier position and try again.  One time while playing Go, my friend 
botched a corner invasion.  I said I could have successfully invaded that 
corner.  We replayed the corner over 20 times.  We eventually determined 
that perfect play resulted in seki.

When someone resigns, we often switch sides.  I have seen one player win 
the same game three times.  He played as the Germans until the Russian 
player resigned.  They swapped and the Russians stormed back until the 
German (formerly Russian) player resigned.  They swapped again, and the 
Germans won.  Sometimes a third person takes over a resigned position.

There was a TwixT game here in ancient times where I was winning, but I 
made one bad move and lost.  I would have liked to restart that game from 
my bad move.  And there are lots of resigned TwixT games where us lesser 
players can't figure why they are resigned.  We could play them out and see 
what happens.

Every backgammon player who doubles and loses blames the dice.  Players 
could restart the game from the point of the double to see how it goes.

I'm not a C++ programmer, but I think this would be very easy to implement.
--
RB |\  Randall Bart
aa |/  admin@RandallBart.com     1-818-985-3259      Barticus@att.net
nr |\  Cell: 1-917-715-0831              Office: 1-212-343-1234 x3016
dt ||\ Here I am: http://RandallBart.com/RBdiag.jpg        I LOVE YOU
a   |/ Cardinal Virtue:    http://RandomHouse.com/wotd/?date=20011024
l   |\ DOT-HS-808-065       MSMSMSMSMSMSMS=6/28/107       Joel 3:9-10
l   |/ Unisys A Series Wiz For Hire:      http://RandallBart.com/Nerd