Re: [pbmserv] Orbit scoring rules?

["Steven Meyers" <swmeyers@fuse.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cameron Browne" <cameronb@optusnet.com.au>
To: "Arthur J. O'Dwyer" <ajo@andrew.cmu.edu>; <pbmserv-users@gamerz.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 7:09 PM
Subject: Re: [pbmserv] Orbit scoring rules?


>
> >   In "Orbit," the in-game score shown with the board
> >shows the number of blank squares inside orbits /and/
> >half-orbits.  But the winner is the one with the
> >most blanks inside /only/ complete orbits, correct?
>
> No, territory for each player is the total number of empty points
> exclusively within that player's orbits and half-orbits (shared territory
> does not count).
>
> Cameron

Cameron's description of territory in Orbit is a good one.  Please note,
though, that there is at the moment a quirk in the implementation --- it
doesn't comply with the following rule: "After both players have passed, any
stones that cannot avoid capture (that is, "doomed" stones) are
automatically removed *prior* to counting territory.  This can have a
significant effect on the score.

The notion of "doomed" stones at game's end is intuitively clear once you've
played Orbit several times, however it's proven difficult to come up with a
precise algorithm for detecting them.  So for the time being, the
implementation doesn't adjust the score at the end of the game in accordance
with the rule.

Steve