Game: Arimaa

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

avyssaleos — 2008-10-01T07:31:06+00:00

During the summer I read somewhere about this game and I played a couple of games with a Chess set.

Although I hate chess I absolutely loved this game. It is really good that Z-Man is publishing it!

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

MisterCranky — 2008-10-01T06:41:15+00:00

Good old Arimaa. I well remember the disrespect it received on rec.games.board after the designers announced their original contest. What a great game. Good for Z-Man.

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

nello — 2008-10-01T06:23:06+00:00

well done Zew

this board game is a must publish..
lookin' forward to see it

Thread: Re: How to make a custom set

SmileyChris — 2008-09-25T08:58:29+00:00

If you've got some vector design skills, you could cut out a really nice set on http://www.ponoko.com

Image

Talisinbear — 2008-09-03T15:47:04+00:00

Backgammon stones with the heads carefully cut out and glued on

Image

Talisinbear — 2008-09-03T15:46:02+00:00

Homemade board with recycled backgammon stones as pieces

Thread: Re: Help on moves

drbsgold — 2008-09-02T15:37:18+00:00

Sorry. You are correct. I didn't read your question thoroughly.
Everything is orthogonal. The pieces are all frozen.

Thread: Re: Opening alignment

Fritzlein — 2008-09-02T14:41:01+00:00

The standard "vanilla" opening that seems safe and flexible was popularized by Toby Hudson. It has six rabbits in back row spaces except the two central ones, and two forward rabbits on the second rank. The elephant and camel go front and center for flexibility, with horses set up flanking the traps where they can take a corner defensive position in a single step forward. Cats go behind the traps, and dogs in the center of the back row.
[c]
..*..*..
RHCEMCHR
RRRDDRRR
[/c]
The above setup is the one I would recommend for beginners, because it is an average position which you can customize when you see a need. The most important structural variation is the number of rabbits set up forward. Omar Syed, the inventor, prefers all rabbits back...
[c]
..*..*..
DHCEMCHD
RRRRRRRR
[/c]
...whereas I prefer four rabbits forward:
[c]
..*..*..
RHREMRHR
RCRDDRCR
[/c]
Also some people such as Naveed Siddiqui like to decentralize the camel...
[c]
..*..*..
DHCECDMH
RRRRRRRR
[/c]
...while Kazushige Ito prefers to decentralize _both_ the camel and the elephant:
[c]
..*..*..
RMCDREHR
RHRRRCDR
[/c]

The game is still quite new, and we are barely scratching the surface, but these are some patterns that various individuals have had success with.

Thread: Re: Help on moves

Fritzlein — 2008-09-02T14:19:25+00:00

Yes, in Scenario A all three opposing pieces are frozen by the elephant. The opposing pieces' diagonal adjacency to each other does not unfreeze them. However, further opposing pieces that you haven't mentioned could unfreeze the three mentioned pieces, which I think was Barry's point.

Thread: Re: Help on moves

Talisinbear — 2008-09-02T13:27:17+00:00

Thanks

However I thought an ally had to be orthogonally adjacent to a piece to unfreeze it, not diagonally as would be the case in the scenario. That is why I asked.

Thread: Re: Opening alignment

drbsgold — 2008-09-02T13:08:25+00:00

One of the interesting aspects of this game is that the setup is fluid...
Here you will find some discussion on the arimaa site about set up.

(you will have to copy and paste this link)

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/forum/cgi/YaBB.cgi?board=talk;action=display;num=1106048769;start=10#10

Thread: Re: Help on moves

drbsgold — 2008-09-02T12:57:05+00:00

Scenario A: Opponent pieces are not frozen if they have allies next to them...from the rules "However if there is a friendly piece next to it the piece is unfrozen and is free to move."

Scenario B: This is directly from the rules: "However when your stronger piece is completing a push it cannot pull an opponent's weaker piece along with it."

The rules may be found here...http://arimaa.com/arimaa/

Thread: Help on moves

Talisinbear — 2008-09-02T12:22:05+00:00

As a newbie looking for some clarification

scenario A

I move my elephant one space forward so that it then has an opponent's rabbit directly in front of it, a cat to the right and a horse to the left. Does it freeze all three opponent pieces?

Scenario B

The elephant is sitting with an opponent's rabbit in front of it and a cat behind. Can I push the rabbit forward, follow it, and pull the cat up behind me, using three movement of course?

thanks

Thread: Opening alignment

Talisinbear — 2008-09-02T09:37:28+00:00

With the ability to establish whatever alignment off pieces you want to start, are there any suggestions of a good lay out for beginners?

Image

artyomch — 2008-08-29T06:26:34+00:00

Arimaa on igGameCenter

Thread: Re: How to make a custom set

Talisinbear — 2008-08-24T00:20:00+00:00

My plan was dashed today

I have nice plastic/bakelite backgammon pieces I was going to have the pieces printed on clear decal adhesive, went to a printer and they had etchings ideas etcv which would have costs over $100

So off to Staples, needing one 8X11 sheet of the decal paper. It comes in 50 packs at cost of near $35.

So now stuck with a good idea, just need a sheet or two of the paper, and unless get to a bigger city no chance of that here.

Anyone with suggestions please let me know

Image

SiskNY — 2008-08-10T12:08:28+00:00

DIY board from safari-themed set

Thread: Re: Rules text and the available AI difference

Aiken Drum — 2008-08-10T11:45:10+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately, it's quite unlikely I'll get to play this game face to face, but it's good to know the proper rules.

Thread: Re: Rules text and the available AI difference

Fritzlein — 2008-08-10T02:12:03+00:00

Yes, a turn must change the board position.

It is legal to pass one step (or two or three). In practice it seems that there is usually something constructive to do with an extra step, so it is rarely right to pass the fourth step.

Everything changes in the endgame. Jeff Bacher has built an endgame tablebase, and in endgames with just three or four pieces left on the board, it is quite often correct to play only three steps of move. In fact, he recently posted an endgame to the Arimaa Forum in which the only correct move was a two-step move!

But endgames are very rare at present, because Arimaa is usually decided in the middlegame, so it's a fairly safe rule of thumb that if you have an extra step you should think of something constructive to do with it (unless you are under time pressure).

Thread: Rules text and the available AI difference

Aiken Drum — 2008-08-10T00:41:32+00:00

Hi,

I was just wondering about a couple of things. The rules text say that at least one step must be taken to change board position. In the downloaded AI application though, you _must_ move 4 steps, however, it is allowable to move two pieces forward and back one step, leaving the board the same. I presume the text is correct, but was just curious

Just so this is not the lamest post ever:
If there does exist the ability to pass at least one step, is there much of an advantage in doing so? (I have only played the AI a few times)

Thanks

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Talisinbear — 2008-08-07T15:08:20+00:00

Ah then it's months away

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Fritzlein — 2008-08-07T11:59:55+00:00

Even the pieces are not yet designed. In fact, that's exactly the hold-up; Omar Syed wants his artist to create 3D pieces and then hand off to Z-Man, instead of just leaving everything up to Z-Man.

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Talisinbear — 2008-08-07T05:06:53+00:00

no sneak peek pics or anything ?

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Fritzlein — 2008-08-07T04:28:00+00:00

I think it is just moving really slowly. At first I thought it would be out in time for Christmas buying, but now I have my sights set on 2009.

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Talisinbear — 2008-08-07T02:50:28+00:00

I can't find anything on Z-man site about this gane being released, anyone have a direct link ? or, has it been cancelled ?

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

megamau — 2008-07-13T13:14:09+00:00

This is REALLY good news.
If I knew before I would have avoided today trip to the woodcarver, the last in my long and unsuccessful series of trials to get a physical board.
I will buy a couple of sets at least.

Thread: Re: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

matthulgan — 2008-06-25T11:50:30+00:00

Oh happy day! I've been hoping for his for a long time!

Thread: Z-Man Games to publish Arimaa!

Fritzlein — 2008-06-25T01:23:32+00:00

Woohoo! My favorite game ever is finally going to hit the store shelves. Over at arimaa.com we have compiled ample evidence that Arimaa makes fanatics out of strategy gamers who take the time to engage it, and now a lot more people will be giving it a good, hard look. I'm ecstatic!

So far I don't have much to report other than that Omar Syed and Z-Man are under contract, but I'll post any further news here if they don't beat me to it.

www.arimaa.com
www.zmangames.com

Thread: Re: 2008 Arimaa World Championship

Fritzlein — 2008-03-31T00:24:05+00:00

The 2008 Arimaa World Championship tournament has just ended. It was a smashing success, both in terms of participation and in terms of advancing the state of the art. Twenty-five players contested seventy-six games, both record highs. The games themselves showed evolving strategies compared to last year, including a greater propensity to advance horses on the wings and keep the camels active on the third rank rather than the second. Furthermore, although it would have been considered madness in 2007 to set up with four rabbits on the second rank, I did so in all eleven of my games in 2008, and was not punished for it. That opening setup is now seeing sporadic uptake among other players, as strategic exploration continues.

Thread: Re: How to make a custom set

Fritzlein — 2008-03-14T02:02:04+00:00

You forgot to provide a link, Evan.

http://arimaa.idahoev.com/

Thread: Re: How to make a custom set

IdahoEv — 2008-03-12T18:30:26+00:00

Very nice. There are some alternative piece designs and concepts available on my arimaa page as well.

Thread: How to make a custom set

GeoMan — 2008-03-11T22:29:36+00:00

It is relatively easy to make an Arimaa set like the one i made:

1. Download the file which contains the Board and Pieces (.pdf format)

2. Print the pieces on A4 paper and the board on A3 paper without any scaling and preferably on a color laser printer.

3. Laminate the board using one A3 (125 micron) laminating sheet.

3. You will need 32 white disks with diameter of 2.5cm. I bought mine from Spielmaterial.

4. Attach a thin plastic transparent self-adhesive sheet on the pieces printout to protect the printed paper from wear and tear.

5. Use a circle-cutter like C-1500P to cut the circular pieces (setting it at 2.4 cm diameter).

6. Stick the pieces on the discs using stick-glue and place some heavy books on them for a couple of hours.

You will end up with a nice Arimaa set with glossy good looking pieces. For even better results you can mount the board on thick cardboard but i prefer laminated boards as you can easily roll them up and carry around.

Image

GeoMan — 2008-03-11T21:13:57+00:00

Custom Arimaa set

Thread: Re: Have you heard of any plans of a commercial release?

matthulgan — 2008-02-07T17:50:34+00:00

Oh what I'd give if Ferti would release Arimaa with pretty pieces like the ones in Siam.
]]>

I love the look of the new Parchisi pieces (below) and I think semi-abstract animals would be perfect for Arimaa.
]]>

Image

SiskNY — 2007-12-26T15:09:05+00:00

Homemade Box -- Safari Theme

Image

SiskNY — 2007-12-26T15:08:20+00:00

Homemade Board and Pieces

Thread: 2008 Arimaa World Championship joins the IAGO World Tour

docreason — 2007-12-24T06:44:41+00:00

IAGO World Tour is proud to added the 2008 Arimaa World Championship to its ever-growing calendar of events.

You can see more here:
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wc/2008/

Thread: Re: 2008 Arimaa World Championship

docreason — 2007-12-24T06:43:26+00:00

The 2008 Arimaa World Championship is now part of the 2008 IAGO World Tour also:[url]
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wc/2008/[/url]

IAGO World Tour is proud to have Arimaa added.

Thread: 2008 Arimaa World Championship

Fritzlein — 2007-12-21T00:06:57+00:00

The 2008 Arimaa World Championship will be played on arimaa.com starting January 8. Last year twenty people from ten countries participated; we are expecting even more participation this year.

The preliminary tournament is open to everyone, and will be Swiss paired, so that everyone gets to play ~5 good games regardless of their level. The top eight finishers advance to a double-elimination final to determine the World Champion.

Participants will play one game per week, with a scheduling tool to fairly determine a common playing time when opponents are in different time zones.

For details see http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wc/2008/

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

Fritzlein — 2007-12-20T22:40:10+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. This is the only "review" I've done for BGG, so I didn't know what was expected. I guess I got caught up in saying what a great game Arimaa is without first explaining what game it is. :-)

In my defense, I think people are often curious about the mechanics of a game, and then judge it based on the mechanics without ever playing it. The trouble is that a game with very cool mechanics can be boring to play (e.g. Quarto), while a game with boring mechanics can be extremely rich and varied (e.g. Go).

I'm interested to see reviews by people encountering the game for the first time, as opposed to my review after having played for years. I think depth is ultimately the most important thing, but first impressions matter too.

As for the four factors necessary to make a game good, I wish I were clever enough to think of them myself, but they are entirely borrowed from J. Mark Thompson.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

russ — 2007-12-19T10:18:41+00:00

This is an interesting article that makes me curious to try the game, but is it really a review? If so, it's possibly the most indirect/abstract game review I've ever read, as I have no concrete idea how the game actually works, other than that it involves using a standard chess board and pieces...

(I would also say that the article's various assertions about what makes an abstract game good/interesting/etc are just as true if you remove the word "abstract" from those sentences.)

Thread: Re: Where to buy suitable pieces?

GeoMan — 2007-12-11T18:38:21+00:00

http://www.thebigzoo.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id...

You will have to buy a couple of these tubes...

or

http://www.safariltd.com/__safari/index.html

Thread: Re: Where to buy suitable pieces?

zefquaavius — 2007-12-11T16:23:54+00:00

Me, too. Currently, you can get that Hasbro Pachisi set with the awesome animal pawns for $3.30 on Amazon, so I bought a few for the bits, but I guess I'll have to make my own. Maybe I should make some molds to make all us Arimaa-set-seekers happy. I've never done that sort of production, but it could be fun, right?

Thread: Where to buy suitable pieces?

matthulgan — 2007-12-11T15:46:16+00:00

I've tried to track down figures of the arimaa animals of similar size and design to create a nice set and I'm coming up short.

Does anyone have any ideas of sculpting my own pieces?

Thread: Re: Have you heard of any plans of a commercial release?

Fritzlein — 2007-11-11T16:15:38+00:00

It heartens me to think that the only thing holding back Arimaa is a full-scale commercial release. If that is so, then Arimaa will some day get the attention and respect a game of such depth deserves. Omar has always planned to manufacture Arimaa-specific sets eventually, so that the Arimaa Challenge prize fund and World Championship prizes wouldn't have to come out of his pocket indefinitely.

Believe it not, Omar has been funding arimaa.com with no revenue for years simply in order to play-test his game. He had asked former U.S. Chess Champion Alexander Yermolinsky for advice on what makes a great game, and Yermo told him that you simply can't tell what is a great game except by playing it. There's no way to know in advance. It boggles my mind what Arimaa strategies have been uncovered through playing that Omar had no idea of when he started his Web site: camel hostages, elephant blockades, frames, and swarms to name a few.

The Championship prizes Omar has disbursed already plus his web server rental bill must be approaching $20,000. He wanted to make sure that there were no flaws uncovered in the mechanics, and no ways to bust the game (ala Abalone). I have to tip my hat to his patience, particularly when I see all the games out there that were commercially released with broken rules that didn't get fixed until the second or third edition, if at all.

With over 60,000 games now played on arimaa.com, the only rule tweak has been the conditions for a draw, which is essentially irrelevant because there have only been about a dozen draws anyway. I think even ultra-methodical Omar is ready to admit that Arimaa is a deep, deep game that won't get busted Wednesday if he releases Tuesday.

I've been begging him for a commercial release for three years now, so I guess I can wait a little bit longer, knowing that Omar will get around to it eventually in his careful style. He's running out of excuses now. The winds of opening theory blow one way and then another, but it seems like the greatest danger (that purely defensive play in the opening is viable) has passed forever. It turns out that passive play can be punished, even expert passive play. I don't know exactly when Omar will release, but I'm confident I won't have to wait another three years!

Thread: Have you heard of any plans of a commercial release?

matthulgan — 2007-11-09T20:59:32+00:00

This seems to be a great game but I don't think it will gain traction untill it sees a full retail relaese. It's nice that I can play with a chess set but hardly optimal.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

Fritzlein — 2007-10-04T16:31:04+00:00

spearjr wrote:
I can only think of 6 games I've played 100+ times.

That's part of my point. I can only think of a handful of games I would want to play 100 times, even if I could spend all day every day on gaming. The only games I have played 100+ times are Arimaa, chess, poker, bridge, Boggle, and Titan, with the first four definitely outstripping the latter two in quality.

Games like Quarto and Abalone can be thrilling at first, but then you seem to slide into state where you aren't learning anything new as you play, and the game loses interest, and you start inventing variant rules because the original game is played out.

There's a difference between a game being fun because the [mechanics, components, theme, vagaries of chance] seem exciting on the first play, and a game being fun because you learn and learn and learn and then it seems there is yet more to learn.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

spearjr — 2007-10-04T13:46:14+00:00

Fritzlein wrote:
If you give Arimaa a hundred plays or so, you will start to understand the religious aspects...
Playing a single game 100 times is a rare feat. I can only think of 6 games I've played 100+ times.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

Fritzlein — 2007-10-04T13:39:42+00:00

HavocIsHere wrote:
Is it some kind of sect?
If you give Arimaa a hundred plays or so, you will start to understand the religious aspects...

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

HavocIsHere — 2007-10-04T11:15:11+00:00

One game rated, Arimaa.
Is it some kind of sect?

Thread: Re: Arimaa at Gateway 2007 (Los Angeles, 9/2/2007)

Fad23 — 2007-09-04T21:07:46+00:00

Sorry I couldn't make it to your event, but as I mentioned, I was busy running other tournaments that day. Anyway, I look forward to checking out the game soon!

Image

Urtur — 2007-09-03T16:20:33+00:00

Virtual box cover.

Thread: Arimaa at Gateway 2007 (Los Angeles, 9/2/2007)

IdahoEv — 2007-08-29T07:55:54+00:00

If anyone out there wants to learn Arimaa, I will be teaching the game to new players this weekend at Gateway 2007 in Los Angeles. Immediately following the instruction there will be a tournament; the winner will receive a handmade set and some dealer dollars to spend at the event.

The event will be at 3:00pm on Sunday - look to the schedule for more information.

http://strategicon.net/

Image

IdahoEv — 2007-08-29T07:28:54+00:00

My handcrafted arimaa set. Red oak board and glass stones.

Image

Urtur — 2007-08-17T08:24:48+00:00

"Travel version" of Arimaa - all you need is paper printer and scisors.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

Fritzlein — 2007-04-30T07:13:26+00:00

I agree that Arimaa isn't very much like chess in terms of how it plays, and it is even less like Go. Leaving aside the equipment (chess) and the piece names (Shou Dou Qi), what other game is most similar to Arimaa in terms of how it feels to play? To me Arimaa is like nothing else, but my experience isn't very wide. Halma seems very different, because there is no capture, and the pieces never regroup backwards for defense. Maybe Epaminondas is the closest match, although I have only played it a couple of times, and thus have no feeling for its strategic depth and variety.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

falcala — 2007-04-30T05:31:07+00:00

Arimaa is a great game. It is really interesting from any point of view, and I hope that it will stand the test of time.

However, I have seen in previous comments comparisons of Arimaa against Chess or other chess variants. In my opinion, Arimaa is not a chess variant, and the only relation I can found is that Arimaa can be played with a Chess set.

My point is: while Chess is a game where you want to capture a certain piece (the King), Arimaa is a game where you want to place one of your weakest pieces at your enemy's back row. Mechanics are different, so Arimaa is closer to Epaminondas or Halma than to Chess. The same can be said about comparing Arimaa with Go. Benchmarking a game against other games with different mechanics is not fair; it is also not ideal.

Of course, I'm not saying that Arimaa is an inferior game because it is not "chess-like". Arimaa is an excellent game that belongs to another family of abstracts. This game is probably the best board-crossing abstract game around.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

Bluebottel — 2006-12-10T20:15:06+00:00

There is no need for scepsis. Find a roughly equal chess player and give the game a go. All you need is a chessboard, some patience and www.arimaa.com for the rules.
Personally i love arimaa. Why? It gives a feeling of space, of room and above all; freedome. Arrange the pieces the way you want, alla according to the original rules. Much like Go arimaa has an immense depth but without the...constrains... of chess.

Thread: Re: Arimaa is well on its way to becoming a classic.

drunkenKOALA — 2006-07-31T04:33:31+00:00

Interesting, but I am still a bit skeptical. Still, I am curious to try this game out.

Thread: Re: Sounds interesting.

Fritzlein — 2006-07-07T22:31:04+00:00

checkmate123 wrote:
I watched a tutorial, but a few of the rules seem vague to me. I'd like to try against an AI to get the hang of the rules before playing against another person.
You're in luck. There are dozens of different versions of bots to play, organized in a ladder for newcomers to work through. Just go to http://arimaa.com/arimaa/gameroom and look for the "Bot Ladder" link.

How long do games tend to last?
Serious games tend to take about an hour, and blitz games about twenty minutes. The Arimaa World Championship uses a slower time control, which means that games often last over two hours, but hardly anybody plays that slowly in pickup games.

When you play the early bots in the Bot Ladder, they all move in a few seconds, but you have a minute or two per move to reply, so you can play as slow or as fast as you like.

Is there a clock involved?
Yes, there is an extremely flexible time control. (Some would say so flexible as to be utterly confusing.) The fastest standard time control is 15 seconds per move, but it seems most games are played at 30, 45, or 60 seconds per move.

To be more precise, many games are played at a time control of 0:45/4:30/100/0/3:30/5:00. This means that you start the game with a reserve time bank of four minutes and thirty seconds (4:30). For each move you get forty-five seconds (0:45) of additional time, and if you don't use it all, one hundred percent (100) of your unused time goes into your time reserve. There is no limit on the amount of reserve time you can accumulate (0), but there is a per-move time limit. If you take more than five minutes (5:00) for any given move, you lose the game on time. This keeps things moving along for your opponent and any spectators.

Finally, if no one can break through in three and a half hours (3:30) a bizarre score formula will be invoked to determine the winner. Fortunately the score formula has never been necessary in a game between two humans, because there has never been a defensive stalemate in the history of human Arimaa play. Bots are a bit dumber, so there it happens once every five thousand games or so.