Abstract strategy game
Encyclopedia
An abstract strategy game is a strategy game
, aiming to minimise luck, and without a theme. Almost all abstract strategy games will conform to the strictest definition of: a board
or card game
, in which there is no hidden information, no non-deterministic elements (such as shuffled cards or dice rolls), in which (usually) two players or teams take a finite number of alternating turns.
Many of the world's classic board games, including checkers
, chess
, Go, and Mancala
, fit into this category. Play is sometimes said to resemble a series of puzzle
s the players pose to each other. As J. Mark Thompson wrote in his article "Defining the Abstract": "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."
, Octiles, Can't Stop, Sequence
, and Mentalis could be considered abstract strategy games, despite having a luck or bluffing element. A smaller category of non-perfect abstract strategy games manages to incorporate hidden information without using any random elements. The best known example here is Stratego
. The pragmatic definition seems to be that if a game is strategic
and abstract (as opposed to being a simulation), the term "abstract strategy" should be applicable.
Traditional abstract strategy games are often treated as a separate category of game, hence, the term abstract games is often used for competitions that exclude traditional games
and can be thought of as referring to modern abstract strategy games. Two examples of this were the IAGO World Tour (2007-2010) and the Abstract Games World Championship held annually since 2008 as part of the Mind Sports Olympiad
.
In some abstract strategy games, there are multiple starting positions of which it is suggested that one be randomly determined: at the very least, in all conventional abstract strategy games a starting player needs to be chosen by some means extrinsic to the game. Some games, such as Arimaa
and DVONN
, have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to abstract strategy game principles. However, most people would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position, the game itself still has no luck element. Indeed, Bobby Fischer
promoted randomizing the starting position
of a game of chess in order to increase the game's dependence on thinking at the board.
. 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 1031 possible positions, whereas chess has in the vicinity of 10123. This suggests that computer programs, through "brute force" calculation alone, should often be able to surpass human players' abilities. As for Go, the possible legal game positions range in the magnitude of 10170. Computers have yet to come close to winning over a ranked professional Go player.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
, aiming to minimise luck, and without a theme. Almost all abstract strategy games will conform to the strictest definition of: a board
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
or card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
, in which there is no hidden information, no non-deterministic elements (such as shuffled cards or dice rolls), in which (usually) two players or teams take a finite number of alternating turns.
Many of the world's classic board games, including checkers
English draughts
English draughts or checkers , also called American checkers or straight checkers or in Israel damka, is a form of draughts board game. Unlike international draughts, it is played on an eight by eight squared board with twelve pieces on each side...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, Go, and Mancala
Mancala
Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia...
, fit into this category. Play is sometimes said to resemble a series of puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s the players pose to each other. As J. Mark Thompson wrote in his article "Defining the Abstract": "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."
What is considered an abstract strategy game
The most strict definition of an abstract strategy game requires that it cannot have random elements or hidden information. In practice, however, many games that do not strictly meet these criteria are commonly classified as abstract strategy games. Games such as ContinuoContinuo (game)
Continuo is an abstract strategy game by Maureen Hiron first published in 1982. It is played by arranging patterns printed on a deck of 42 cards, each card being printed with a grid of 16 colored squares. The goal is to place cards so that the tiles match as many chains of color as possible....
, Octiles, Can't Stop, Sequence
Sequence (board game)
Sequence, a board-and-card game, was invented by Douglas Reuter in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the two year period in the 1970's. In June, 1981, Mr. Reuter entered into a license agreement with Jax Ltd., Inc. which authorizes it to manufacture and distribute Sequence and was first sold in a retail...
, and Mentalis could be considered abstract strategy games, despite having a luck or bluffing element. A smaller category of non-perfect abstract strategy games manages to incorporate hidden information without using any random elements. The best known example here is Stratego
Stratego
Stratego is a board game featuring a 10×10 square board and two players with 40 pieces each. Pieces represent individual officers and soldiers in an army. The objective of the game is to either find and capture the opponent's Flag or to capture so many of the opponent's pieces that he/she cannot...
. The pragmatic definition seems to be that if a game is strategic
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
and abstract (as opposed to being a simulation), the term "abstract strategy" should be applicable.
Traditional abstract strategy games are often treated as a separate category of game, hence, the term abstract games is often used for competitions that exclude traditional games
Traditional game
In computer and video games, a traditional game is a computer program adaptation of a non-computer game . Board games and card games have been around for many years such as Go which is thought to have been around in ancient China more than 2,500 years ago, and although it is not known exactly when...
and can be thought of as referring to modern abstract strategy games. Two examples of this were the IAGO World Tour (2007-2010) and the Abstract Games World Championship held annually since 2008 as part of the Mind Sports Olympiad
Mind Sports Organisation
The Mind Sports Organisation is an association for promoting mental-skill games including Contract Bridge, Chess, Go, Mastermind, and Scrabble. Since 1997 it has annually organised in England a multi-sport competition, the Mind Sports Olympiad main event.The MSO was founded in conjunction with...
.
In some abstract strategy games, there are multiple starting positions of which it is suggested that one be randomly determined: at the very least, in all conventional abstract strategy games a starting player needs to be chosen by some means extrinsic to the game. Some games, such as Arimaa
Arimaa
The objective of the game is to move a rabbit of one's own color onto the home rank of the opponent. Thus Gold wins by moving a gold rabbit to the eighth rank, and Silver wins by moving a silver rabbit to the first rank...
and DVONN
DVONN
DVONN is a two-player strategy board game in which the objective is to accumulate pieces in stacks. It was released in 2001 by Kris Burm as the fourth game of the GIPF Project. DVONN won the 2002 International Gamers Award and the Games magazine Game of the Year Award in 2003.- Equipment :DVONN is...
, have the players build the starting position in a separate initial phase which itself conforms strictly to abstract strategy game principles. However, most people would consider that although one is then starting each game from a different position, the game itself still has no luck element. Indeed, Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
promoted randomizing the starting position
Chess960
Chess960 is a chess variant invented and advocated by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, originally announced on June 19, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It employs the same board and pieces as standard chess, but the starting position of the pieces is randomized along the players' home...
of a game of chess in order to increase the game's dependence on thinking at the board.
Comparison
Analysis of “pure” abstract strategy games is the subject of combinatorial game theoryCombinatorial game theory
Combinatorial game theory is a branch of applied mathematics and theoretical computer science that studies sequential games with perfect information, that is, two-player games which have a position in which the players take turns changing in defined ways or moves to achieve a defined winning...
. Abstract strategy games with hidden information, bluffing, or simultaneous move elements are better served by Von Neumann-Morgenstern game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, while those with a component of luck may require probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
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 1031 possible positions, whereas chess has in the vicinity of 10123. This suggests that computer programs, through "brute force" calculation alone, should often be able to surpass human players' abilities. As for Go, the possible legal game positions range in the magnitude of 10170. Computers have yet to come close to winning over a ranked professional Go player.
Champions
The Mind Sports Olympiad first held the Abstract Games World Championship in 2008 to try to find the best abstract strategy games all-rounder. The MSO event saw a change in format in 2011 restricting the competition to players' 5 best events and renamed to the Modern Abstract Games World Championship it was again won by David Pearce.- 2008: David M. Pearce (England)
- 2009: David M. Pearce (England)
- 2010: David M. Pearce (England)
- 2011: David M. Pearce (England)
See also
- List of abstract strategy games
- Connection gameConnection gameA connection game is a type of abstract strategy game in which players attempt to complete a specific type of connection with their pieces. This could involve forming a path between two or more goals, completing a closed loop, or connecting all of one's pieces so they are adjacent to each other....
s - Game complexityGame complexityCombinatorial game theory has several ways of measuring game complexity. This article describes five of them: state-space complexity, game tree size, decision complexity, game-tree complexity, and computational complexity.-Measures of game complexity:...
- List of world championships in mind sports
- Mind Sports OlympiadMind Sports OrganisationThe Mind Sports Organisation is an association for promoting mental-skill games including Contract Bridge, Chess, Go, Mastermind, and Scrabble. Since 1997 it has annually organised in England a multi-sport competition, the Mind Sports Olympiad main event.The MSO was founded in conjunction with...
- World Mind Sports GamesWorld Mind Sports GamesThe first World Mind Sports Games were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of...
External links
- "Defining the Abstract" by J. Mark Thompson
- The University of Alberta Games Group
- David Eppstein's CGT page
- http://boardspace.net/boardspace.netBoardSpace.netBoardspace.net is the online home of a wide array of strategy games. Some are well known in the gaming community others are obscure by almost anyone's standards. The primary goal of the site is to promote real time games between two humans. Most games have robots you can play and use for learning...
Many of the top-rated abstracts can be played here, against human opponents or computer practice opponents.