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Multiplicity | |
| Multiplicity was invented in early february 2013. The game seemed perfectly tailored to the Symple move protocol, to spawn and grow groups with the object of getting the highest score. A player's score at the end of the game is the product of the sizes of all his groups. The applet keeps track of the number of stones and groups and the score during play, allowing players to concentrate on strategy and tactics. However, when the applet was made, the game turned out rather disappointing, with an obvious strategy and little tactical leeway. On April the 19th 2014 it suddenly occured to me that I had disregarded a well-known Shogi proverb: "If you find a good move, look for a better one". The Symple protocol is an almost perfect conceptual fit that results in a game that is theoretically deep, but practically dull. The "one bound - one free" protocol fits just as nicely, but results in a density and division of stones that support a far wider range of tactics and a more elusive strategy in both phases. | |
| Note that groups larger than four stones carry a sense of inefficiency in that they can be split in two parts that factor to a higher value. A group of 5 carries less weight than the product of a group of 2 and a group of 3. The larger the group, the more inefficient it becomes. So connections should be avoided as much as possible. However, moving is compulsory ... In 2020 Luis Bolaños Mures pointed out that Multiplicity actually didn't need an opening protocol, a fact that had escaped my attention. So now there's the option to play the game without it. | |