Undo no longer bound to the Back button. Instead, use the Menu button to access undo and redo.
After Mark gets back from vacation, we're going to try out a 8x8 or 7x7 board to make it easier to select your stones and make your moves. For now you have to press very firmly to get your presses to register.
Embargo is a strategic board game of breaking barriers. Move your pieces any distance horizontally or vertically. If two pieces share the same row or column, a wall is formed between them that no pieces can pass through. Your goal is to get all your pieces to your opponent's corner. See complete rules here.
Now Embargo is available for Android phones! This is version 0.8. Consider it an open playable beta. Two players can play by passing the phone back and forth. Hit the 'back' button to undo your last move. It undoes one move only. Online multiplayer and vs AI will come in a later version.
This app comes to you thanks to Mark Sherry. You may recognize Mark Sherry from the credits in Happy Birthday, Robot! He was very generous with his math/programming skills during HBR's development and that generosity continues here. Thanks so much, Mark!
There was some discussion about whether this quote was too suggestive, but Rob insisted that a less crude "Anyone willing to fail can create" lacked the same punch.
As you well know, the first rule of SageFight is "Tell everyone about SageFight." I'm doing my part by teaching my co-workers into the fine, ancient tradition. Here I am teaching how to duel, but I end up getting schooled. Here are screencaps I took to highlight some key techniques often seen in the Duel version of SageFight.
1) It's pretty typical to go low for an early advance. It's a more natural movement than going high. Also, your target is usually below shoulder-level.
2) Often, you'll get into these little shoving matches, much like jedi shoving their light sabers against each other. Much more dorky, though. :P
3) Now here, Adam has the upper hand. Literally. He's about 6 inches taller than me, so he can easily push my arm down if I maintain contact.
4) Indeed, he transitions into a dominant defensive move, shoving my hand away with his own.
5) So we break contact and prepare for a new sequence of attacks and defenses. I attempt to lure his aggression by letting my hand hang limply.
6) Adam goes in for a block, but I've evaded contact and prepare to strike from behind his back.
7) Ack! Adam anticipates my gambit. He catches my arm from underneath while also pulling his shoulders back.
8) Woosh. It's all over now. He's used his body weight to go upright once more, shoving my arm well away from the line of attack, leaving my torso defenseless.
SETUP
2 Players
Each player has a set of 15 stones.
Each player, on their first turn, puts their stones on the table. The first two stones must not touch each other.
ON YOUR TURN
Put a stone on the table touching another stone. A stone cannot touch more than two other stones, so lines start growing across the table. Your stone will go at the end of one of these lines.
CAPTURE
If a pair of stones is sandwiched between two stones of another color, that pair is removed from the table and returned to the player. You do NOT keep captured pieces. Any loose stones remaining after a capture can be the beginning of a new line.
ENDGAME
The game ends when one player runs out of stones.
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I wanted a 2-player abstract playable at a restaurant with the little sugar packets they usually have available. Usually, they'll have your choice of plain sugar and an artificial sweetener. But no board and no other gaming props available, so anything as complex as Hive won't work. I also want to avoid a dexterity game, since those tend to get messy and I'd hate to make a busser clean up after gamers. :P
The mechanics right now show interesting emergent properties, like creating organic lines across a table. Also, pieces you capture end up back in possession of your opponent. With limited supply of stones, this could be interesting strategic tension.
I haven't quite figured out a good victory condition, though. Perhaps these mechanics should change, too.
Thoughts on a good victory condition or something to make this a little more interesting?
