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1993-03-17
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96 lines
* - BLOCKADE - *
Copyright (and invented by) PC Solutions Jan 1992, All rights Reserved.
Playing the game
--------------------
Each player takes turns to place his pieces on the board, with the
objective of ending up with the highest score. You may ONLY move
to a square adjacent to BOTH one of yours and your opponents pieces.
When you move, squares ADJACENT to your move are effected thus:-
- If an opponents piece is surrounded by 3 or more (RULE 1) of yours,
you capture it. Hit F2 key on main menu to change threshold.
- If an empty square is surrounded by 3 or more (RULE 2) of yours,
you capture it. (F3 key adjusts threshold)
- If one of YOUR pieces is surrounded by 4 or more (RULE 3) of yours,
it is turned into an OPPONENTS piece! (F4 key adjusts threshold)
Note that the above ONLY applies to squares ADJACENT to the one you
MOVE onto. To change the THRESHOLD at which the above rules apply,
use the F2/F3/F4 keys on the main menu. The game ends when you
run out of legal moves, or the board is full - then the highest score
wins. You score 9 points for each CORNER square, 3 points for each
EDGE square and 1 point for each other square occupied - adjust edge/
/corner square values with F5/F6 keys on the main menu.
When playing, move your cursor by using the numbers around the
'5' on the numeric keypad and hit RETURN to place your stone.
MOUSE users can hit left button to move to the square pointed at.
Command Summary
-------------------
F1 - Show all possible legal moves.
F2 - Make computer take your go.
F3 - Automatic demo play. (SPACE ends)
F4 - Change IQ play-level.
F5 - Toggle Two-player/Setup mode - disable computer reply.
F9 - Toggle Cursor off/on.
ESC - Abort back to main menu.
In Depth..
--------------
Ok, thats the help blurb, as given in the program, now some background.
Having written versions of most of the well-known two-player strategy games,
I decided to start inventing my own. I wanted something with very simple
components and territorial concepts, like OTHELLO and GO, but at the same
time complexities at depth. Examine the above rules - note that any move ONLY
effects the squares IMMEDIATLY ADJACENT to the move. I originally experimented
with rules that stretched right across the board (a bit like 'chaos' theory)
- however it was too complex to be playable, and computer move-generation
and search time would have been high. Originally I allowed moves anywhere
on the board, however I found that by limiting moves to empty squares
adjacent to BOTH a white and black piece, the MOBILITY (ie. number of legal
moves) available to players drops, and play becomes more forceful. Tactics
are sharpened futher by awarding special point bonuses for occupying
EDGE and CORNER squares - this, in combination with the mobility limitation
leads to long, interesting winning sequences and lines. Because of the
adjacency rule, it is necessary to have some pieces on the board to kick
the game off - the pattern I have chosen allows plenty of choices early on
in the game.
Incidentally, I mention CHAOS theory above, and it is interesting to note
that two-player combat games like BLOCKADE, CHESS, OTHELLO, DRAUGHTS and
others, often exhibit CHAOTIC behaviour patterns - ie. an insignificant
move can lead to a long tactical forcing sequence that wins the game. Often
there is no surface justification for the winning move, indeed sometimes it
is a sacrificial move! While CHAOS is very trendy at the moment, two-player
games like CHESS etc have been left on the sidelines. Maybe modern computer
experts don't like to admit that CHESS & DRAUGHTS players discovered CHAOS
hundreds of years ago... Food for thought. Anyway back to BLOCKADE...
Of course, since it is early days for this game, it is very difficult to
decide what strategies are effective. However a few obsevations are possible -
notice that once a square is completely surrounded, it becomes STABLE and
can not be flipped again - ie. its effect on the final score is permanant.
Obviously since the EDGE and CORNER squares score highly, particular attention
should be taken to play around these areas. Think when moving within two
squares distance of a CORNER square - are you offering your opponent a corner?
Remember that your opponent can legally move to the SAME squares as you can.
I would speculate that it is probably advantageous to have the final SEALING
move in a given area of the board. It is also probably wise to try to REDUCE
mobility when significantly ahead in points, in an attempt to finish the
game before your opponent can recover, and conversly to INCREASE mobility
when behind, although again this is speculative.
The current version uses a simple small search to determine the computers
reply - I find this good enough to beat me most of the time! If you like this
game, you will find a stronger version on PCS GAMES-PACK 4, with more levels.
Do give this game a bit of time - once you master the rules, it grows on you!
People often ask how we generate such small, fast programs - well special
thanks must go to Borland and thier excellent Turbo-C compiler - this can
generate much, much faster/smaller code than, say, Quickbasic. Forget the
rest, Turbo-C is the best! Contact Borland on Freephone 0800 212727
(or 0734 321150) for futher info. You will find some of our own special
C-Tools for Turbo-C on our Util-Pack..
Anyway, I hope you enjoy BLOCKADE!