New game: Advanced Square Lifeline

[luigi]

This game feels like Go from another planet to me.



The key rule is this: a group is captured if there is no path of connected empty points between that group and any other group of its color. The path does not need to be a straight line.

Full rules and more in a BoardGameGeek thread. You can also replay the above game with the EidoGo viewer.

[luigi]

Here is another session for good measure:

[phillip1882]

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the rules. It seems the go ko would be the same for this game.

An incursion is a placement by one player in a territory owned by the other player. An incursion is minimal if it causes exactly one enemy group to be moved to the prison.

so yeah, capturing a single stone in the go fashion ko rule should be be legal.

[phillip1882]

in your example of the smallest living shapes, i agree the bottom left, bottom middle, and bottom right are alive.
but according to the incursion rule, the top left, top middle, and top right groups should be captured.
as you have it now, its a slightly modified one eye go.

[luigi]

in your example of the smallest living shapes, i agree the bottom left, bottom middle, and bottom right are alive.
but according to the incursion rule, the top left, top middle, and top right groups should be captured.
as you have it now, its a slightly modified one eye go.

Yes, the shapes at the top are only alive in a simplified variant without incursions.

[luigi]

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the rules. It seems the go ko would be the same for this game.

An incursion is a placement by one player in a territory owned by the other player. An incursion is minimal if it causes exactly one enemy group to be moved to the prison.

so yeah, capturing a single stone in the go fashion ko rule should be be legal.

Yes, exactly. But you cannot take a ko if your opponent just took any ko.

[phillip1882]

Yes, exactly. But you cannot take a ko if your opponent just took any ko.

this sounds like a really good super ko rule.
i think seki would be significantly more difficult under these rules

[luigi]

Yes, exactly. But you cannot take a ko if your opponent just took any ko.

this sounds like a really good super ko rule.

I agree! Unfortunately, it doesn't remove all cycles.

To remove all cycles, you need to say that your play becomes marked if it is not in an empty area that touches an unmarked friendly stone before removing surrounded groups, and, further, that you cannot capture a marked stone with a marked play if your opponent just made a marked play. This is very much like Go, but not quite.

[phillip1882]

as said in the website, whether there's a non collude repetition is and open question.

it would be very hard for such.

[luigi]

Yes, exactly. But you cannot take a ko if your opponent just took any ko.

this sounds like a really good super ko rule.

I agree! Unfortunately, it doesn't remove all cycles.

To clarify: such a rule doesn't remove all forced cycles in Go (because not all forced cycles involve ko), but it probably removes all forced cycles in Advanced Square Lifeline. Cooperative cycles are possible in both games under this rule.

[luigi]

White won the above game by 0 moves. Komi was 5.

By the way, the game is now called Asli.