Death Stacks
Encyclopedia
Death Stacks is an abstract strategy board game
for two players invented by Stephen Euin Cobb
. Abstract strategy games have no random elements (such as dice) or hidden information (such as playing cards). Chess and Checkers are abstract strategy board games.
The Annual Death Stacks Tournament
is held in Charlotte
North Carolina
each summer and is hosted by the science fiction convention
ConCarolinas
.
Death Stacks can be classified as a variant of the game Focus
by Sid Sackson
, published in A Gamut of Games
.
The U.S. Copyright Office granted it Registered Copyright status on January 21, 2004.
The first tournament was held in 2004.
A new tournament category was awarded for the first time in 2007. The trophy for "Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation of Death Stacks" was awarded (in absentia) to an AI programmer nicknamed Freegoldbar for his two versions of the game (one which may be downloaded using one of the external links below, and one which may be played online using one of the external links below.) This category was created to encourage artificial intelligence programmers to tackle the problems of arithmetic logic inherent in this game. In a programming sense this task can be considered more complicated than checkers but less complicated than chess.
2005 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Bryan Reese; and tied for 4th place, Chris Ingram & Gerry Baygents. First prize was $250.00.
2006 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Bryan Reese; 3rd Place, Eric Lowman. (A 4th Place trophy was also awarded.) First prize was $250.00.
2007 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Joey Wong. First prize was $250.00.
2008 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Aloysius Trey Krieger. First prize was $250.00.
2009 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Aloysius Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Eric Lowman. First prize was $250.00.
2010 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Ray Allen. First prize was $250.00.
2011 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Will Harris. First prize was $250.00.
2007 1st place: Freegoldbar for his two versions of the game (one which may be downloaded using one of the external links below, and one which may be played online using one of the external links below.)
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...
for two players invented by Stephen Euin Cobb
Stephen Euin Cobb
Stephen Euin Cobb is a U.S. author, magazine writer, interviewer and host of the award-winning podcast The Future and You...
. Abstract strategy games have no random elements (such as dice) or hidden information (such as playing cards). Chess and Checkers are abstract strategy board games.
The Annual Death Stacks Tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
is held in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
each summer and is hosted by the science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
ConCarolinas
ConCarolinas
ConCarolinas is a three day long science fiction convention held once each year in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted by ConCarolinas, Inc., a non-profit corporation....
.
Death Stacks can be classified as a variant of the game Focus
Focus (board game)
Focus is an abstract strategy board game, designed by Sid Sackson and first published in 1964 by Kosmos. The game has been re-published many times since, sometimes under the titles Domination or Dominio. Focus won the 1981 Spiel des Jahres and Essen Feather awards...
by Sid Sackson
Sid Sackson
Sid Sackson was a significant American board game designer and collector.His most popular creation is probably the business game Acquire...
, published in A Gamut of Games
A Gamut of Games
A Gamut of Games, written by Sid Sackson and first published in 1969, contains rules for a large number of paper and pencil, card, and board games. Many of the games in the book had never before been published...
.
History
The game was invented November 27, 2002.The U.S. Copyright Office granted it Registered Copyright status on January 21, 2004.
The first tournament was held in 2004.
A new tournament category was awarded for the first time in 2007. The trophy for "Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation of Death Stacks" was awarded (in absentia) to an AI programmer nicknamed Freegoldbar for his two versions of the game (one which may be downloaded using one of the external links below, and one which may be played online using one of the external links below.) This category was created to encourage artificial intelligence programmers to tackle the problems of arithmetic logic inherent in this game. In a programming sense this task can be considered more complicated than checkers but less complicated than chess.
Human Championship Rankings
2004 tournament winners: 1st Place, Mark Furr; 2nd Place, Jeff Smith; 3rd Place, Eric Lowman. First prize was $250.00.2005 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Bryan Reese; and tied for 4th place, Chris Ingram & Gerry Baygents. First prize was $250.00.
2006 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Bryan Reese; 3rd Place, Eric Lowman. (A 4th Place trophy was also awarded.) First prize was $250.00.
2007 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Joey Wong. First prize was $250.00.
2008 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Eric Lowman; 3rd Place, Aloysius Trey Krieger. First prize was $250.00.
2009 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Aloysius Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Eric Lowman. First prize was $250.00.
2010 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Ray Allen. First prize was $250.00.
2011 tournament winners: 1st Place, Chris Jarrett; 2nd Place, Trey Krieger; 3rd Place, Will Harris. First prize was $250.00.
Artificial Intelligence Championship Rankings
"Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation of Death Stacks"2007 1st place: Freegoldbar for his two versions of the game (one which may be downloaded using one of the external links below, and one which may be played online using one of the external links below.)
External links
- How to play Death Stacks (Official Instructions)
- Photos from a Tournament
- ConCarolinas (Host of the Annual Death Stacks Tournament)
- An online Death Stacks game (requires browser with Adobe Flash Player 9)
- Freely downloadable Death Stacks game for home computers with MS .Net installed (open source, written in C#)