The SmallHolder
Ruleset:
The Smallholder- Gaps Original
Game
See the game The SmallHolder for more details.
Period(s)
Modern
Rules
Goal: Last to place a stone, wins.
Definitions:
-- Stones are connected if they are the same color and next to each other orthogonally.
-- Groups consist of connected stones.
Every stone is part of exactly one group. Every group contains all the stones connected to it.
(Groups without any adjacent playable sites are shown with grey dots, for convenience.)
Play starts with black. Turns alternate. Passing is not allowed.
A player with a single group must create a new group, or LOSE.
Otherwise, if placement is made adjacent to a group, it must be next to a group of the same size as the mover's smallest group.
Group holdings are all the sites that lie between pairs of each group's members.
After placement, capture every enemy STONE within friendly holdings.
Placement inside the opponent's holdings is forbidden.
This game has a strong tactic of boxing in singletons at the corners (or any other small groups) so that expansion would be impossible. The game's tension is that capture and control is driven by reducing many groups to fewer larger ones, but larger groups mean turns get spent on enlarging a few small groups that might not have space to grow.
Concepts
Browse all concepts for The Smallholder- Gaps Original here.
Other Rulesets
Described rulesets
The Smallholder- Nibbler
The Smallholder- Offshore Gaps
The Smallholder- Stymie
The Smallholder- Hull Setbacks
Identifiers
DLP.GameRulesets.2652
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