Abstract strategy games in contrast to strategy games in general usually have no or minimal narrative theme, outcomes determined only by player choice (with no randomness), and all players have perfect information about the game.[1] For example, Go is a pure abstract strategy game since it fulfills all three criteria; chess and related games are nearly so but feature a recognizable theme of ancient warfare; and Stratego is borderline since it is deterministic, loosely based on 19th-century Napoleonic warfare, and features concealed information.
Combinatorial games have no randomizers such as dice, no simultaneous movement, nor hidden information. Some games that do have these elements are sometimes classified as abstract strategy games. (Games such as Continuo, Octiles, Can't Stop, and Sequence, could be considered abstract strategy games, despite having a luck or bluffing element.) A smaller category of abstract strategy games manages to incorporate hidden information without using any random elements; the best known example is Stratego.
Traditional abstract strategy games are often treated as a separate game category, hence the term 'abstract games' is often used for competitions that exclude them and can be thought of as referring to modern abstract strategy games. Two examples are the IAGO World Tour (2007–2010) and the Abstract Games World Championship held annually since 2008 as part of the Mind Sports Olympiad.[2]
Some abstract strategy games have multiple starting positions of which it is required that one be randomly determined. For a game to be one of skill, a starting position needs to be chosen by impartial means. Some games, such as Arimaa and DVONN, have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to combinatorial game principles. Most players, however, would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position, the game itself contains no luck element. Indeed, Bobby Fischer promoted randomization of the starting position in chess in order to increase player dependence on thinking at the board.[3]
As J. Mark Thompson wrote in his article "Defining the Abstract", play is sometimes said to resemble a series of puzzles the players pose to each other:[4][5]
There is an intimate relationship between such games and puzzles: every board position presents the player with the puzzle, What is the best move?, which in theory could be solved by logic alone. A good abstract game can therefore be thought of as a "family" of potentially interesting logic puzzles, and the play consists of each player posing such a puzzle to the other. Good players are the ones who find the most difficult puzzles to present to their opponents.
Many abstract strategy games also happen to be "combinatorial"; i.e., there is no hidden information, no non-deterministic elements (such as shuffled cards or dice rolls), no simultaneous or hidden movement or setup, and (usually) two players or teams take a finite number of alternating turns.
Many games which are abstract in nature historically might have developed from thematic games, such as representation of military tactics.[6] In turn, it is common to see thematic version of such games; for example, chess is considered an abstract game, but many thematic versions, such as Star Wars-themed chess, exist.
HistoryEdit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020)
Mancala is among the oldest known games to still be widely played today. Chess is believed to have originated in northwest India, in the Gupta Empire (c. 280–550),[7][8][9][10] where its early form in the 6th century was known as chaturaṅga (Sanskrit: चतुरङ्ग), literally four divisions [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Chaturanga was played on an 8×8 uncheckered board, called ashtāpada.[11]Shogi was the earliest chess variant to allow captured pieces to be returned to the board by the capturing player.[12] This drop rule is speculated to have been invented in the 15th century and possibly connected to the practice of 15th century mercenaries switching loyalties when captured instead of being killed.[13]
A board resembling a Draughts board was found in Ur dating from 3000 BC.[14] In the British Museum are specimens of ancient Egyptian checkerboards, found with their pieces in burial chambers, and the game was played by Queen Hatasu.[15][16]Plato mentioned a game, πεττεία or petteia, as being of Egyptian origin,[16] and Homer also mentions it.[16]
Go was considered one of the four essential arts of the cultured aristocratic Chinese scholars in antiquity. The earliest written reference to the game is generally recognized as the historical annal Zuo Zhuan[17][18] (c. 4th century BC).[19]
Englishmen Lewis Waterman[20] and John W. Mollett both claim to have invented the game of Reversi in 1883, each denouncing the other as a fraud. The game gained considerable popularity in England at the end of the nineteenth century.[21] The game's first reliable mention is on 21 August 1886 edition of The Saturday Review.
ComparisonEdit
Analysis of "pure" abstract strategy games is the subject of combinatorial game theory. Abstract strategy games with hidden information, bluffing, or simultaneous move elements are better served by Von Neumann–Morgenstern game theory, while those with a component of luck may require probability theory incorporated into either of the above.
As for the qualitative aspects, ranking abstract strategy games according to their interest, complexity, or strategy levels is a daunting task and subject to extreme subjectivity. In terms of measuring how finite a mathematical field each of the three top contenders represents, it is estimated that checkers has a game-tree complexity of 1040 possible games, whereas chess has approximately 10123. As for Go, the possible legal game positions range in the magnitude of 10170.
ChampionsEdit
The Mind Sports Olympiad first held the Abstract Games World Championship in 2008 to try to find the best abstract strategy games all-rounder.[2] The MSO event saw a change in format in 2011[22] restricting the competition to players' five best events, and was renamed to the Modern Abstract Games World Championship.
^. Othello Museum. Beppi.it. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
^. Mind Sports Olympiad. August 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
External linksEdit
The University of Alberta Games Group
David Eppstein's CGT page
August 27, 2023
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Abstract strategy games in contrast to strategy games in general usually have no or minimal narrative theme outcomes determined only by player choice with no randomness and all players have perfect information about the game 1 For example Go is a pure abstract strategy game since it fulfills all three criteria chess and related games are nearly so but feature a recognizable theme of ancient warfare and Stratego is borderline since it is deterministic loosely based on 19th century Napoleonic warfare and features concealed information The abstract strategy game of Go Contents 1 Definition 2 History 3 Comparison 4 Champions 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDefinition Edit The game StrategoCombinatorial games have no randomizers such as dice no simultaneous movement nor hidden information Some games that do have these elements are sometimes classified as abstract strategy games Games such as Continuo Octiles Can t Stop and Sequence could be considered abstract strategy games despite having a luck or bluffing element A smaller category of abstract strategy games manages to incorporate hidden information without using any random elements the best known example is Stratego Traditional abstract strategy games are often treated as a separate game category hence the term abstract games is often used for competitions that exclude them and can be thought of as referring to modern abstract strategy games Two examples are the IAGO World Tour 2007 2010 and the Abstract Games World Championship held annually since 2008 as part of the Mind Sports Olympiad 2 Some abstract strategy games have multiple starting positions of which it is required that one be randomly determined For a game to be one of skill a starting position needs to be chosen by impartial means Some games such as Arimaa and DVONN have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to combinatorial game principles Most players however would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position the game itself contains no luck element Indeed Bobby Fischer promoted randomization of the starting position in chess in order to increase player dependence on thinking at the board 3 As J Mark Thompson wrote in his article Defining the Abstract play is sometimes said to resemble a series of puzzles the players pose to each other 4 5 There is an intimate relationship between such games and puzzles every board position presents the player with the puzzle What is the best move which in theory could be solved by logic alone A good abstract game can therefore be thought of as a family of potentially interesting logic puzzles and the play consists of each player posing such a puzzle to the other Good players are the ones who find the most difficult puzzles to present to their opponents Many abstract strategy games also happen to be combinatorial i e there is no hidden information no non deterministic elements such as shuffled cards or dice rolls no simultaneous or hidden movement or setup and usually two players or teams take a finite number of alternating turns Many games which are abstract in nature historically might have developed from thematic games such as representation of military tactics 6 In turn it is common to see thematic version of such games for example chess is considered an abstract game but many thematic versions such as Star Wars themed chess exist History EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it November 2020 Achilles and Ajax playing a board gameMancala is among the oldest known games to still be widely played today Chess is believed to have originated in northwest India in the Gupta Empire c 280 550 7 8 9 10 where its early form in the 6th century was known as chaturaṅga Sanskrit चत रङ ग literally four divisions of the military infantry cavalry elephants and chariotry represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn knight bishop and rook respectively Chaturanga was played on an 8 8 uncheckered board called ashtapada 11 Shogi was the earliest chess variant to allow captured pieces to be returned to the board by the capturing player 12 This drop rule is speculated to have been invented in the 15th century and possibly connected to the practice of 15th century mercenaries switching loyalties when captured instead of being killed 13 A board resembling a Draughts board was found in Ur dating from 3000 BC 14 In the British Museum are specimens of ancient Egyptian checkerboards found with their pieces in burial chambers and the game was played by Queen Hatasu 15 16 Plato mentioned a game petteia or petteia as being of Egyptian origin 16 and Homer also mentions it 16 Go was considered one of the four essential arts of the cultured aristocratic Chinese scholars in antiquity The earliest written reference to the game is generally recognized as the historical annal Zuo Zhuan 17 18 c 4th century BC 19 Englishmen Lewis Waterman 20 and John W Mollett both claim to have invented the game of Reversi in 1883 each denouncing the other as a fraud The game gained considerable popularity in England at the end of the nineteenth century 21 The game s first reliable mention is on 21 August 1886 edition of The Saturday Review Comparison EditAnalysis of pure abstract strategy games is the subject of combinatorial game theory Abstract strategy games with hidden information bluffing or simultaneous move elements are better served by Von Neumann Morgenstern game theory while those with a component of luck may require probability theory incorporated into either of the above As for the qualitative aspects ranking abstract strategy games according to their interest complexity or strategy levels is a daunting task and subject to extreme subjectivity In terms of measuring how finite a mathematical field each of the three top contenders represents it is estimated that checkers has a game tree complexity of 1040 possible games whereas chess has approximately 10123 As for Go the possible legal game positions range in the magnitude of 10170 Champions EditThe Mind Sports Olympiad first held the Abstract Games World Championship in 2008 to try to find the best abstract strategy games all rounder 2 The MSO event saw a change in format in 2011 22 restricting the competition to players five best events and was renamed to the Modern Abstract Games World Championship 2008 David M Pearce England 2009 David M Pearce England 2010 David M Pearce England 2011 David M Pearce England 2012 Andres Kuusk Estonia 2013 Andres Kuusk Estonia See also EditConnection games Game complexity List of abstract strategy games List of world championships in mind sports Mind Sports Olympiad World Mind Sports GamesReferences Edit Abstract Games BoardGameGeek a b Abstract Games Mind Sports Olympiad Archived from the original on March 25 2012 Retrieved July 27 2017 van Reem Eric May 31 2001 The birth of Fischer Random Chess The Chess Variant Pages Retrieved July 27 2017 Thompson J Mark July 2000 Defining the Abstract The Games Journal Retrieved July 27 2017 Abstract strategy games and other genres out of scope of IAGO International Abstract Games Organisation Archived from the original on August 18 2011 SFE Board Game sf encyclopedia com Retrieved 2022 08 21 Leibs 2004 p 92 Robinson amp Estes 1996 p 34 Murray 1913 Bird 1893 p 63 Ashtapada Jean Louis Cazaux 2005 07 25 Retrieved 2013 07 16 Shogi Japanese Chess The Chess Variant Pages Retrieved 8 March 2012 Hodges George ed 1980 Shogi history amp the variants Shogi No 27 pp 9 13 Oxland Kevin 2004 Gameplay and design Illustrated ed Pearson Education p 333 ISBN 978 0 321 20467 7 Strutt Joseph 1801 The sports and pastimes of the people of England London p 255 a b c Lure of checkers The Ellensburgh Capital 17 February 1916 p 1 Retrieved 2009 04 16 Burton Watson April 15 1992 The Tso Chuan ISBN 978 0 231 06715 7 Fairbairn John 1995 Go in Ancient China Retrieved 2007 11 02 Warring States Project Chronology 2 University of Massachusetts Amherst Archived from the original on 2007 12 19 Retrieved 2007 11 30 Note He was not the Lewis Waterman who patented the Waterman fountain pen in 1884 citation needed Brief history of Othello Othello Museum Beppi it Archived from the original on 16 May 2009 Retrieved 4 January 2015 MSO XV Pentamind Mind Sports Olympiad August 28 2011 Archived from the original on July 22 2012 External links EditThe University of Alberta Games Group David Eppstein s CGT page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abstract strategy game amp oldid 1167924215, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
