Re: [pbmserv] question about the game "Alak"

[Richard Rognlie <rrognlie@gamerz.net>]

According to  http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/12153

* Black and white take turns placing stones on the line. Unlike Go, this
  placement is compulsory if a move is available; if no move is possible,
  the game is over.

* No stone may be placed in a location occupied by another stone, or in
  a location where a stone of your own colour has just been removed. The
  latter condition keeps the game from entering a neverending loop of
  stone placement and capture, known in Go as ko.

* If placing a stone causes one or two groups of enemy stones to no
  longer have any adjacent empty spaces--liberties, as in Go--then those
  stones are removed. As the above rule states, the opponent may not play
  in those locations on their following turn.

* If placing a stone causes one or two groups of your own colour to no
  longer have any liberties, the stones are not suicided, but instead are
  safe and not removed from play.


On Thu, Oct 06, 2005 at 12:26:52PM +0100, Kevin Buzzard wrote:
> Alak is "1-dimensional go", as implemented on the PBEM server. I've never
> played Alak before and was contemplating having a...erm...go. But I
> don't understand the rules! I know something about usual (2-dimensional)
> go, but can't follow the second example in the Alak rules: the position is
> 
> XX-XXO-

If X plays to the - adjacent to the O piece, the results are

	XX-XXOO

forcing X to play to the space, and ending the game.   X wins 5-2.

if O plays between the XX's, you;ll get something like

	--O--O-

X should not be able to play in the --'s, so has to play on the end.

	--O--OX

and then the game would continue (I think)

> (on a 7 by 1 board) and the rules say that O could play the blank square
> on the left (capturing all 4 X pieces---this much I understand), or he
> could play in the blank square on the right, forcing X to play the last
> remaining blank square and X wins 5-2. I don't follow this last bit at
> all. By my understanding of the rules of 2-d go, O is not allowed to play
> in the blank square on the right because he instantly then loses both of
> his pieces, and suicide is illegal in 2-d go. Isn't it?
> 
> Can anyone clarify this?

So, apparently, I need to clarify the rules, eh?

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