Help For Zèrtz

Introduction to playing Zèrtz on Richards PBeM-server.

This is not an introduction to Zèrtz. If you don't know the game yet but want to learn then you can go and buy it or check the gipf-website (www.gipf.com) for the rules. In any case, you should check the gipf-website to know how the moves of a game are written down.

CHALLENGE

The challenge-command for Zèrtz is the same as for most games, just give the userid of both players and the fun can start.

Example:: zertz challenge useridplayer1 useridplayer2

options:

If you use the previous command you will play Zèrtz according to the tournament rules. If you want to play with the standard rules then you have to use the '-standard' option.

Example:
zertz challenge -standard useridplayer1 useridplayer2
If a player has only one possible capture-move, then the server will automatically make this move without user-intervention. If you you want to make these moves yourself then you have to use the '-noforcedmoves' option when starting the game.

Example:
zertz challenge -noforcedmoves useridplayer1 useridplayer2

MOVE
The move-command for Zèrtz is a little more complicated than most games.

The basic command is of the form:
zertz move gamenr userid password zertzmove

When playing a game of Zèrtz, there are 2 possible actions. Depending on the situation on the board, the implementation will indicate what must be done to go on with the game.
1. Normal move, bring a new marble into play and remove a tile
```
     ex.
         gc3,a1
```
  The first character of your move indicates the color of the marble (W for white, G for gray, B for black) you want to add to the board, followed by the position where you want to place it. Then a ',' and the position of the tile you want to remove.
  There are situations where you can't remove a free tile because there are none. In that case you should use 'xx' for the position of the tile to be removed.
2. Capture one or more marbles
```
     ex.
         e1-e3-c4
```
  The first position indicates the marble that will jump over other marbles to capture them. After this come separated by '-' the positions it is jumping to.
UNDO
If you made a wrong move, you can correct this with the UNDO-command. But your opponent will have to agree with you.

command:
zertz move gamenr userid password undo
your opponent will then get the question if he wants to accept the undo-command.

if he agrees he should reply with:
zertz move gamenr userid password accept
if he doesn't want the undo to take place:
zertz move gamenr userid password reject

How to interpret the ASCII-representation of a zèrtz-game
- Every hexagon represents one of the tiles that constitute a zèrtz-board. If a tile is removed from the board then the hexagon is replaced by a dot.
- White, gray and black marbles are shown on the board as the letters W, G and B in the middle of a hexagon.
- The following drawing shows a typical game-situation:
```
                   A4 B5 C6 D7 E6 F5 G4 
                            __          
                         __/G \__       
                      __/  \__/  \      
                     /  \__/  \__/.  __ 
                   . \__/  \__/  \__/  \
                      . \__/  \__/  \__/
                   .  __/  \__/B \__/  \
                   __/  \__/  \__/  \__/
                  /W \__/B \__/  \__/  \
                  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/
                  /B \__/  \__/. \__/  \
                  \__/  \__/  \   . \__/
                     \__/  \__/.        
                        \__/  \         
                           \__/         
                                        
                   A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 
```
- Coordinates on a zèrtz-board consist of a letter (A-G) and a number (1-7).
  The letter indicates the column, the number is the position within the column when you start counting from the bottom. The following drawing should make things clear:
```
                   A4 B5 C6 D7 E6 F5 G4 
                            __          
                         __/D7\__       
                      __/C6\__/E6\__    
                   __/B5\__/D6\__/F5\__ 
                  /A4\__/C5\__/E5\__/G4\
                  \__/B4\__/D5\__/F4\__/
                  /A3\__/C4\__/E4\__/G3\
                  \__/B3\__/D4\__/F3\__/
                  /A2\__/C3\__/E3\__/G2\
                  \__/B2\__/D3\__/F2\__/
                  /A1\__/C2\__/E2\__/G1\
                  \__/B1\__/D2\__/F1\__/
                     \__/C1\__/E1\__/   
                        \__/D1\__/      
                           \__/         
                                        
                   A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 F1 G1 
```
  The extension to the PBeM-server for playing Zèrtz was written by Kurt Van den Branden (kurtvdb@pandora.be). If you find a problem or a bug, let him know.
  o Zèrtz, (C) and (R) Don & Co nv, 1999. All rights reserved.

Help For Zèrtz

Introduction to playing Zèrtz on Richards PBeM-server.

CHALLENGE

MOVE

UNDO