[pbmserv] New game: Lambo

[Cameron Browne <cameron.browne@btinternet.com>]

Hi,

A new game Lambo has been added to the server. This a tile placement 
game in which players strive to enclose shapes of their colour, a bit 
like Mambo but simpler and more elegant.

Official rules: http://www.cameronius.com/games/lambo/
PBeM help page: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/lambo.html
Graphical UI:   http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/List.php?Lambo

Please try it out!

  lambo challenge <you> camb
  lambo challenge camb <you>

Cameron

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Help for the Game of Lambo

   Welcome to the network Lambo server. The challenge command is described
   here. Other commands are the same as for all pbmserv games.

     lambo challenge [-size=number] userid1 userid2

   starts a new game for two players.

   The -size parameter specifies the number of tiles (default 48).

  Introduction

   Lambo is a tile-placement game in which players strive to form 
closed groups
   of their colour.

   Note: The game is much easier to see using the graphical web interface than
   the ASCII email version!

  Rules

   Two players, Light and Dark, share a common pool of 48 hexagonal bridge
   tiles. Each tile contains a white bridge and a blue bridge, and may be
   oriented in three ways such that the corner colours are the same for each
   rotation.

         .--oo          .--oo          .--oo
        o   oo\        /    oo        / ooo \
       ooo  oo )      oooo    )      oooo    )
        o   oo/        \ ooo /        \    oo
         `--oo          `--oo          `--oo

   Start: The game starts with a single tile in the middle of the 
playing area.

   Play: Light places a single tile adjacent to the starting tile such that
   edge colours match, then players take turns placing two tiles per turn
   adjacent to existing tiles such that edge colours match. The second tile
   each turn may use the first tile that turn as its existing neighbour, but
   the two do not have to be adjacent.

   Aim: The game is won by the player who forms a closed group of their colour
   of at least size 1. A group's size is given by the number of bridges it
   contains.

   For example, the following figure shows a game won by Dark (o) who has
   enclosed an 'o' group containing one bridge. The closed Light group in
   the lower lefr contains no bridges so doesn't count.

                    .--oo
                   /    oo
              .--ooooo    `--oo
             / ooo   ooo   ooo \
        .--ooooo    .  ooooo    `--oo
       o   oo     oo    oo    oo   oo\
      ooo  oo .  ooooo    .  oooo  oo `--oo
       o   oo     oo ooo o   ooo   oo     oo
        )  ooooo    .  oooo  oo .  ooooo    )
       o   oo  ooo   ooo o   ooo   oo  ooo /
      ooo  oo .  ooooo    .  oooo  oo .--oo
       o   oo  ooo      oo    oo   oo/
        `--ooooo    .--ooooo    .--oo
             \    oo     \ ooo /
              `--oo       `--oo

   If a move forms winning groups for both players, then the mover loses. If
   the tiles run out before either player wins then the game is won by the
   player with the largest group (counting bridges) otherwise it is a draw.

Syntax

   The move syntax is:

     lambo move board# userid password a1
     lambo move board# userid password a1,c12

  History

   Lambo tiles and rules by Cameron Browne and copyright (c) Cyberite Ltd,
   2008.

   The name Lambo is derived from the fact that the game is a sort of "Lite
   Mambo".

   Please see the official Lambo page for further details and examples:
   http://www.cameronius.com/games/lambo/

   Implementation and Help file by Cameron Browne, August 2008.