Argon is a 'dynamic connection' game featuring a special opening protocol to get to one of its zillions of initial positions.
In the rules, adjacencies and neighbors are understood to be orthogonal only.

Rules There are two players, Black and White. Each has a sufficient number of stones in his color. The first phase White starts by placing one stone on the empty board. From that point on players take turns to: Place a stone on a point adjacent to the last stone placed by the opponent, and ... ... place a stone on a on a point that has only vacant points as neighbors. Both placements are compulsory. When the player to move can no longer make the second placement, then his turn ends and his opponent may start the second phase. The diagram shows a possible position at the end of the first phase. The number of stones will always be equal (and will remain so throughout the game, for that matter) but either player may end up being the one to start the second phase.

The second phase
Moving is compulsory. In the second phase players in turn move one of their stones to a target square that is exactly "n" steps away, whereby "n" is the number of vacant points adjacent to the departure square. The move must be in an orthogonal direction but must change direction if and only if it reaches the board's edge, where it proceeds in a perpendicular or opposite direction. In doing the latter it may not end on its departure square. Stones may move over stones of either color.

• If the target square is vacant, this constitues the end of the turn.
• If the target square is occupied by a like colored stone, the move is illegal.
• If the target square is occupied by an opponent's stone, both stones are removed from play.

Object
The first player to unite his stones into one orthogonally connected group wins, unless his final move also leaves the opponent with one group, in which case the game ends in a draw. If a move results in only the unification of the opponent's stones, then the move loses the game.


Argon © MindSports
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