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Wikipedia

Lines of Action

January 01, 1970

Lines of Action (or LOA) is an abstract strategy board game for two players invented by Claude Soucie. The objective is to connect all of one's pieces into a single group. The game was recommended by the Spiel des Jahres in 1988.[1]

Lines of Action
Lines of Action starting position
DesignersClaude Soucie
GenresBoard game
Abstract strategy game
Players2
Setup time< 1 minute
ChanceNone
SkillsStrategy, tactics
SynonymsLOA

Rules edit

Goal edit

The object of the game is to bring all of one's pieces together into a contiguous body so that they are connected vertically, horizontally or diagonally (8-connectivity).[clarification needed]

Movement summary edit

  • Players alternate moves, with Black having the first move.
  • Pieces move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
  • A piece moves exactly as many spaces as there are pieces (both friendly and enemy) on the line in which it is moving. For example, Black may open with c8-c6. Black's piece moves two.

Movement diagrams edit

A piece may not jump over an enemy piece. Thus in the diagram below, White cannot play a6-d6, even though there are three pieces in row 6. White might instead play a6-c4, moving two spaces because there are two pieces in the diagonal (a6-f1) in which White is moving.

 

A piece may jump over friendly pieces. Thus Black may continue with e8-b5, jumping his own piece. He moves three spaces because there are three pieces in the diagonal (a4-e8) in which he is moving.

 

A piece may land on a square occupied by an enemy piece, resulting in the latter's capture and removal from the game. For example, White may play h3-f1, capturing the black pieces on f1.

 

A player who is reduced to a single piece wins the game, because his pieces are by definition united. If a move results, due to a capture, in each player having all his pieces in a contiguous body, then either the player moving wins, or the game is a draw, depending on the rules in force at the particular tournament.

Simultaneous connection edit

In the original 1969 edition of A Gamut of Games, simultaneous connection was described as a draw. In the second edition, the rules were changed to declare this a win for the player moving. Here is Sid Sackson's note in the preface to the second edition: "Claude Soucie and I are all that remains of N.Y.G.A. At his request, I have corrected an error in the rules for LINES OF ACTION, eliminating possible draws." However, despite the intention of the inventor of LOA, most present day tournaments including the World Championships at the Mind Sports Olympiad score simultaneous connection as a draw.

Strategy edit

The game can become quite tactical in open positions where the pieces on both sides are mobile. The strategic depth of the game, however, derives to a large extent from blocking strategies designed to limit the opponent's mobility. It can be advantageous to pin one or more enemy pieces against the side of board by moving in the second row or column.

Having more pieces is usually an advantage, because they can limit the opponent's options as they mass together. On the other hand, material considerations are not all-important, because having fewer pieces also means having fewer to unite.

Example game edit

The above moves illustrated the rules, but not necessarily good play. The following moves are more typical of expert play.

 

Black plays b1-b3. The piece moves two squares vertically, because there are two pieces in the file: b1 and b8. This move gives White no opportunity to capture, and threatens to hem in the pieces on the a-file.

 

White moves h4-f2. The piece moves two spaces because there are two pieces in the diagonal: h4 and e1. White threatens the mobility of Black's pieces in the bottom row.

 

Black plays d1:a4, jumping over his own piece (which is permitted) and capturing the white piece at a4. Note that Black moved three spaces, as there were three pieces in the diagonal: a4, b3, and d1.

It isn't clear whether the capture is advantageous or not. Black does now have an extra piece, but the move didn't do much to block White or build a central mass for Black. Usually early captures on the edge are not especially powerful, whereas early captures in the center are extremely good.

 

White plays h2-e2, continuing the blockade of the first rank. The piece moves three squares, jumping over a friendly piece. White, despite the substantial disadvantage of moving second, apparently is in the lead now due to the reduced mobility of Black's first-row pieces. White will soon play a2-d2, continuing to build his own bridge and forcing Black's piece on e1 to move sideways if it wants to join the game. It hardly helps for Black to try to escape with e1-c3, because that allows White to capture with a5:c3.

Example winning move edit

In the diagram below, White has made a move that connects all his pieces while Black is still at least two moves from such a state. Thus, White has won the game.

 

Champions edit

The World Championships take place annually at the Mind Sports Olympiad. World champions from 1997 onwards are given in the list below.[2]

  • 1997:   Fred Kok
  • 1998:   Hartmut Thordsen
  • 1999:   Fred Kok
  • 2000:   Jochen Drechsler
  • 2001:   Koichi Nicholas
  • 2002:   Fred Kok
  • 2003:   Koichi Nicholas
  • 2004:   Fred Kok
  • 2005:   Koichi Nicholas
  • 2006:   Fred Kok
  • 2007:   Tim Hebbes
  • 2008:   James Heppell
  • 2009:   Tim Hebbes
  • 2010:   Andres Kuusk
  • 2011:   Tim Hebbes
  • 2012:   Peter Horlock
  • 2013:   Ankush Khandelwal
  • 2014:   Alain Dekker
  • 2015:   Andres Kuusk
  • 2016:   James Heppell
  • 2017:   James Heppell[3]
  • 2018:   Andres Kuusk[4]
  • 2019:   James Heppell[5]
  • 2020:   James Heppell[6]
  • 2021:   Andres Kuusk
  • 2022:   Koichi Nicholas
  • 2023:   James Heppell

Variant edit

A variant of Lines of Action with a different starting position was also proposed by Soucie and is known as Scrambled Eggs.[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ LoA on German Spiel des Jahres official website
  2. ^ Mind Sports Olympiad LOA Results http://www.boardability.com/result.php?id=lines_of_action 10 July 2010
  3. ^ 2017 MSO medal table https://msoworld.com/2017-medal-table/ 18 Jan 2021
  4. ^ 2018 MSO medal table https://msoworld.com/2018-medal-table/ 18 Jan 2021
  5. ^ 2019 MSO medal table https://msoworld.com/2019-medal-table/ 18 Jan 2021
  6. ^ 2020 MSO medal table https://msoworld.com/2020-medal-table/ 18 Jan 2021
  7. ^ http://brainking.com/en/GameRules?tp=86 Brain King Web page: Scrambled Eggs Rules

Bibliography

  • Sackson, Sid (1982) [1st Pub. 1969, Random House, New York]. A Gamut of Games. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-394-71115-7.
  • Schmittberger, R. Wayne (1992). New Rules for Classic Games. John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 978-0471536215.

External links edit

  • "Lines Of Action - Computer World Champion, including academic research"
  • Rules for Lines of Action with example diagrams

January 01, 1970
lines, action, abstract, strategy, board, game, players, invented, claude, soucie, objective, connect, pieces, into, single, group, game, recommended, spiel, jahres, 1988, starting, positiondesignersclaude, souciegenresboard, game, abstract, strategy, gameplay. Lines of Action or LOA is an abstract strategy board game for two players invented by Claude Soucie The objective is to connect all of one s pieces into a single group The game was recommended by the Spiel des Jahres in 1988 1 Lines of ActionLines of Action starting positionDesignersClaude SoucieGenresBoard game Abstract strategy gamePlayers2Setup time lt 1 minuteChanceNoneSkillsStrategy tacticsSynonymsLOA Contents 1 Rules 1 1 Goal 1 2 Movement summary 1 3 Movement diagrams 1 4 Simultaneous connection 2 Strategy 2 1 Example game 2 2 Example winning move 3 Champions 4 Variant 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksRules editGoal edit The object of the game is to bring all of one s pieces together into a contiguous body so that they are connected vertically horizontally or diagonally 8 connectivity clarification needed Movement summary edit Players alternate moves with Black having the first move Pieces move horizontally vertically or diagonally A piece moves exactly as many spaces as there are pieces both friendly and enemy on the line in which it is moving For example Black may open with c8 c6 Black s piece moves two Movement diagrams edit A piece may not jump over an enemy piece Thus in the diagram below White cannot play a6 d6 even though there are three pieces in row 6 White might instead play a6 c4 moving two spaces because there are two pieces in the diagonal a6 f1 in which White is moving nbsp A piece may jump over friendly pieces Thus Black may continue with e8 b5 jumping his own piece He moves three spaces because there are three pieces in the diagonal a4 e8 in which he is moving nbsp A piece may land on a square occupied by an enemy piece resulting in the latter s capture and removal from the game For example White may play h3 f1 capturing the black pieces on f1 nbsp A player who is reduced to a single piece wins the game because his pieces are by definition united If a move results due to a capture in each player having all his pieces in a contiguous body then either the player moving wins or the game is a draw depending on the rules in force at the particular tournament Simultaneous connection edit In the original 1969 edition of A Gamut of Games simultaneous connection was described as a draw In the second edition the rules were changed to declare this a win for the player moving Here is Sid Sackson s note in the preface to the second edition Claude Soucie and I are all that remains of N Y G A At his request I have corrected an error in the rules for LINES OF ACTION eliminating possible draws However despite the intention of the inventor of LOA most present day tournaments including the World Championships at the Mind Sports Olympiad score simultaneous connection as a draw Strategy editThe game can become quite tactical in open positions where the pieces on both sides are mobile The strategic depth of the game however derives to a large extent from blocking strategies designed to limit the opponent s mobility It can be advantageous to pin one or more enemy pieces against the side of board by moving in the second row or column Having more pieces is usually an advantage because they can limit the opponent s options as they mass together On the other hand material considerations are not all important because having fewer pieces also means having fewer to unite Example game edit The above moves illustrated the rules but not necessarily good play The following moves are more typical of expert play nbsp Black plays b1 b3 The piece moves two squares vertically because there are two pieces in the file b1 and b8 This move gives White no opportunity to capture and threatens to hem in the pieces on the a file nbsp White moves h4 f2 The piece moves two spaces because there are two pieces in the diagonal h4 and e1 White threatens the mobility of Black s pieces in the bottom row nbsp Black plays d1 a4 jumping over his own piece which is permitted and capturing the white piece at a4 Note that Black moved three spaces as there were three pieces in the diagonal a4 b3 and d1 It isn t clear whether the capture is advantageous or not Black does now have an extra piece but the move didn t do much to block White or build a central mass for Black Usually early captures on the edge are not especially powerful whereas early captures in the center are extremely good nbsp White plays h2 e2 continuing the blockade of the first rank The piece moves three squares jumping over a friendly piece White despite the substantial disadvantage of moving second apparently is in the lead now due to the reduced mobility of Black s first row pieces White will soon play a2 d2 continuing to build his own bridge and forcing Black s piece on e1 to move sideways if it wants to join the game It hardly helps for Black to try to escape with e1 c3 because that allows White to capture with a5 c3 Example winning move edit In the diagram below White has made a move that connects all his pieces while Black is still at least two moves from such a state Thus White has won the game nbsp Champions editThe World Championships take place annually at the Mind Sports Olympiad World champions from 1997 onwards are given in the list below 2 1997 nbsp Fred Kok 1998 nbsp Hartmut Thordsen 1999 nbsp Fred Kok 2000 nbsp Jochen Drechsler 2001 nbsp Koichi Nicholas 2002 nbsp Fred Kok 2003 nbsp Koichi Nicholas 2004 nbsp Fred Kok 2005 nbsp Koichi Nicholas 2006 nbsp Fred Kok 2007 nbsp Tim Hebbes 2008 nbsp James Heppell 2009 nbsp Tim Hebbes 2010 nbsp Andres Kuusk 2011 nbsp Tim Hebbes 2012 nbsp Peter Horlock 2013 nbsp Ankush Khandelwal 2014 nbsp Alain Dekker 2015 nbsp Andres Kuusk 2016 nbsp James Heppell 2017 nbsp James Heppell 3 2018 nbsp Andres Kuusk 4 2019 nbsp James Heppell 5 2020 nbsp James Heppell 6 2021 nbsp Andres Kuusk 2022 nbsp Koichi Nicholas 2023 nbsp James HeppellVariant editA variant of Lines of Action with a different starting position was also proposed by Soucie and is known as Scrambled Eggs 7 See also editList of world championships in mind sportsReferences edit LoA on German Spiel des Jahres official website Mind Sports Olympiad LOA Results http www boardability com result php id lines of action 10 July 2010 2017 MSO medal table https msoworld com 2017 medal table 18 Jan 2021 2018 MSO medal table https msoworld com 2018 medal table 18 Jan 2021 2019 MSO medal table https msoworld com 2019 medal table 18 Jan 2021 2020 MSO medal table https msoworld com 2020 medal table 18 Jan 2021 http brainking com en GameRules tp 86 Brain King Web page Scrambled Eggs Rules Bibliography Sackson Sid 1982 1st Pub 1969 Random House New York A Gamut of Games Pantheon Books ISBN 0 394 71115 7 Schmittberger R Wayne 1992 New Rules for Classic Games John Wiley amp Sons Inc ISBN 978 0471536215 External links edit Lines Of Action Computer World Champion including academic research Rules for Lines of Action with example diagrams Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lines of Action amp oldid 1198717858, 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