banner_gamerz.gif (6081 bytes)
 

Help For Plakoto

Introduction

Welcome to the network Plakoto server. The rules of Plakoto are below. The commands are the same for all pbmserv games.

Options for Plakoto

Plakoto Move <board> <userid> <passwd> flip
"flip" will allow the player's pieces to start at the bottom right and move clockwise around the board.
Plakoto Move <board> <userid> <passwd> noflip
"noflip" will allow the player's pieces to start at the top right and move counter-clockwise around the board. This is the default position.
Both "flip" and "noflip" will be set for all boards in the game of Plakoto that the player may be playing or will play in the future.

Rules of Plakoto

Summary

This is the initial layout for the game of Plakoto. All of the pieces start on their own one position and the players must travel around the board to their home position as in backgammon. When a blot gets captured it stays on the point but is trapped underneath the attacker. The trapped blot cannot move until it is freed. If a blot on a player's one position (called the 'mother') gets trapped (before it moves) that player loses the game immediately, unless it is possible for him to trap his opponent's 'mother'. If both 'mothers' are trapped the game is a tie. The doubling cube is not to be used in Plakoto. 
 _________________________________________________
|                        |                        |Eks: player1 360/15 
|12  11  10   9   8   7  | 6   5   4   3   2   1  |  
|                        |                    OOO |    
|                        |                    OOO |  
|                        |                    OOO |    
|                        |                    OOO |
|                        |                    OOO |
|                        |                        |HOME  64
|                        |                    XXX |
|                        |                    XXX |
|                        |                    XXX |    
|                        |                    XXX |    
|                        |                    XXX |    
|13  14  15  16  17  18  | 19  20  21  22  23  24 |    
|________________________|________________________|Ohs: player2 360/15

Introduction

The following is taken from Backgammon Games and Strategies by Nicolaos and Basil Tzannes. ISBN 0-498-01497-5 In this book the authors classify many games as 'backgammon games.' In America and many Western cultures the word 'backgammon' is used for a particular game, but in this book the authors refer to the American game of backgammon as 'Hit'. Also, men are refered to as pieces and a point made with two or more pieces is refered to as a door. In this book three backgammon games are discussed; Hit (backgammon), Plakoto, and Moultezim. It is assumed that you are familiar with the game of Hit, and in this document only the game of Plakoto is discussed. It is highly recommended that you read the book for further help and strategies.

The game of Plakoto

Plakoto is played by two players. All fifteen pieces are placed on each player's number one position in his own table.

Regulations

  1. [Same as in Hit] The two numbers of a given throw may be used to move two separate pieces in the amounts indicated by the two dice, or one piece in the total amount.
  2. [Same as in Hit] No piece can be used to move into a position occupied by two or more of the opponent's pieces. Thus, having two or more pieces on a point (position) creates a problem (door) for the opponent. Such a situation is called 'making a point' or a 'door'. The number of pieces that can be placed on a point is unlimited.
  3. [Same as in Hit] If a single piece is used to move the total amount indicated by the two dice of a throw, each amount must be played separately. Either number can be played first. Naturally, if both numbers, when played first, end up on an opponent's door, the piece cannot be moved.
  4. [Same as in Hit] If the throw is a pair (i.e., the same numbers) the throw is called a 'doublet' and the player plays twice the normal amount. He may move one, two, three, or four of his pieces with the same rules (No. 1 through No. 3) applying as before.
  5. [Same as in Hit] A player is obligated to play the total amount indicated by the dice, if he can. If he cannot, he must play the highest number possible. If the throw is such that none of the numbers can be played, the player loses his turn.
  6. [Unique to Plakoto] If a single piece occupies a position, this piece is called a 'blot'. If an opponent moves one of his pieces into a position occupied by a blot, then the blot is captured (both pieces stay on the board with the captured piece on the bottom, i.e. touching the side of the board), and cannot be moved until it is freed. The position of a captured blot is equivalent to a point made (a door) for the player who has done the capturing. He may add as many pieces there as he wishes and the opponent cannot move into that position again. (This rule is the main difference between Hit and Plakoto, besides the initial setup.)
  7. [Unique to Plakoto] In order to begin to bear off his pieces, all of a player's pieces must be in his opponent's home table *and they must be free*, none of them must be captured there by the opponent. If a piece is captured by the opponent, the player continues to play and "cook" his pieces, but he cannot bear them off.
  8. [Same as in Hit] When a player is in the last stage of the game (i.e., he is bearing off his pieces), and one of the numbers of a throw falls on a position that is unoccupied, then he must take one of the pieces that rests on the highest occupied position. However, if there is a piece that rests on a position higher than the unoccupied one, *then the player is obligated to play this piece.*
  9. [Unique to Plakoto] If one of your pieces is captured after you have borne off a few pieces, you must wait until the piece is free before bearing off any more pieces.
  10. [Same as in Hit] A "backgammon" is when one of the players still has pieces inside his own home when his opponent has borne off all of his.
  11. [Unique to Plakoto] As we have said, each player starts with all fifteen pieces in his own position one. As he moves along, he may be forced to leave his last piece there as a blot. If this last piece (called the 'mother') is captured there by the opponent, and if the opponent has no more pieces left in his own one position, then the player with the captured mother has lost the game triple. The minute a player has his mother captured, he must concede the game, unless of course, the other player has pieces still resting in his own one position (since, in that case, his mother is still threatened.) A game in which both mothers are captured is declared a tie. This possibility of a tie is unique only to the game of plakoto. The reason, of course, that the player with the captured mother loses the game triple is because his opponent will not free this piece until all his other pieces have been borne off the board.
apache_pb.gif (2326 bytes)