Beach Go
Keywords: Variant
Using discs that may or may not touch each other introduces problems that require a software judge to decide if discs touch or not (I'm referring to Go on a board without lines)
Let me propose following variant. It attempts to reduce Go to a most primitive form, which could be played e.g. on a beach with pebbles, shells, etc...
This variant is somewhat related to Topological Go, Cathedral game as well as pentominoes.
First I propose the ideal form.
Proposal
hardware
- The playing surface is magnetic, of possibly irregular shape
- 'Stones' are two-dimensional metal shapes ("extrusions"?) with significant thickness (e.g. 5 mm);
- players are electrically wired (low voltage, of course) so that if they touch the playing surface, their move is invalid, or equal to suicide (to decide)
rules
- two stones are connected if the attacking player can play a move that touches the two stones
- a group is dead if the owning player cannot add a stone to it
- stone counting is in effect
Discussion
- goban shape is irrelevant but can be decided or fixed by convention
- playing shapes ('stones') can be regularly shaped (eg discs) or not, can be identical or not (eg in case this gets programmed, generated randomly such as in Tetrix).
- Why two-dimensional *extruded* shapes ? The idea is that a player should drop the shape in place (i.e. without touching the surface and disturbing existing shapes). As a result, either the shape will completely stick to the playing surface, or part of it will be elevated by a shape that is already on the goban. In which case the move is rejected or considered suicide. The significant thickness ensures that a shape can only stick completely to the surface, or it will stick out.
- the 'dead group' rule is also applicable to dropped shapes: if they didn't kill a group, but the player cannot add a shape, they are dead and thus removed (=suicide rule)
- of course the metal and electric stuff cannot be found on a beach... The idea is that shapes should not touch each other - this remains the most difficult part of the rules.