ABALONE

Object of the game

Layout of the Game

Start

Movement of Pieces

Single Piece move

Moving in line

Moving Sideways

Push moves

How to move pieces in the program

Other options in the program

Shortcut Keys

Playing Tips

Object of the game:

On a hexagonal board (radius 5) two to six players have armies of marbles. This computer game plays with two players only. Players take turns "pushing" 1, 2 or 3 linearly connected marbles, attempting to push their opponents' marbles off the board. First player to push 6 of their opponent's marbles off the board wins.

Layout of the Game:

The game is played on a hexagonal board with 4 interlaced different size hexagons, where the most exterior hexagon has 5 circular locations at each side. In the middle there is a single location. As a total, there are 61 places on the board.

Start:

Each player has fourteen pieces that can rest in these 61 locations. Initial game position for players in ‘Standard’ layout is shown below:

				1		2		3			4		5
			6		7		8		9			10		11
		12		13		14		15			16		17		18
	19		20		21		22		23			24		25		26
27		28		29		30		31		32			33		34		35
	36		37		38		39		40			41		42		43
		44		45		46		47		48			49		50
			51		52		53		54			55		56
				57		58		59		60			61

Other common layouts are Bowl or Marguerite. A game can also be started with a Random distribution of 28 pieces.

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Movement of Pieces:

You may move a group of 1, 2, or 3 adjacent pieces of your color (a group of 3 pieces must be in a straight line) one space in any one of the six possible directions. A group of two or three marbles may push an opponent's smaller group when moving in a direction that the line is pointing (i.e., not when moving "sideways").

Once you have pushed six of computer pieces off of the board, you win!

Typical valid moves on a standard shown above could be.

Single Piece move:

A single piece can move to any adjacent vacant position.

Moving in line:

2,7 to 7,13

3,8,14 to 8,14,21

Moving Sideways:

14,15 to 21,22

14,15 to 22,23

14,15,16 to 22,23,24

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				1		2		3			4		5
			6		7		8		9			10		11
		12		13		14		15			16		17		18
	19		20		21		22		23			24		25		26
27		28		29		30		31		32			33		34		35
	36		37		38		39		40			41		42		43
		44		45		46		47		48			49		50
			51		52		53		54			55		56
				57		58		59		60			61

Push moves:

Given the diagram above, possible push moves are:

1,7,14,22,31 can push red by one location to 7,14,22,31,40

16,13,31 to 23,31,39

46,52,57 to 52,57 green piece at 57 will be ejected

23,32,41,49,56 to 32,41,49,56 red piece at 56 will be ejected

18,26,35 to 26,35 green piece will be ejected

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How to move pieces in the program:

1. Move a singe piece: Left click on the piece, then right click on an adjacent empty position

2. Move a row sideways: Left click all pieces in the row to move, then right click on one of the corner pieces (this piece will be highlighted by letter X. Right click on an adjacent empty position. The row will move sideways, shifting X piece to the empty location and other pieces accordingly.

3. Move a row in line: Left click all pieces in the row to move, then right click on one of the corner pieces (this piece will be highlighted by letter X. Right click on an adjacent empty position. The row will move in line, shifting X piece to the empty location and other pieces accordingly.

4. Move a row in line including opponent pieces. Same as 3 above, but do not left click on the opponent piece.

5. Eject an opponent piece: Left click on pieces behind the piece the opponent piece, then right click on piece to be ejected.

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Other options in the program:

Show Piece#s: Each of 61 locations on the board are numbered. Player pieces on the board can be displayed with or without numbers.

Start: Game can start with Green or Red player to go first.

AutoPlayer: Computer can play Red or Green or both automatically. Both players can be manual also.

Automove: Click this button for computer to take this turn

Save Game: Save current game to a file for retrieval and play later

Load Game: Load a game saved earlier

Options: The following additional options are available:

Allow Repeat Moves: All computer to make repeat moves when computer is making automove

Show pieces raised: Pieces will be displayed as raised instead of flat

Trace moves: This is a debug option to check the logic behind computer decisions. This option is generally not available. Contact the author for more details.

Pause interval: Increase this value for computer to pause and show the move being made

Delete Trace files: Moves during a game are stored in a file ‘TraceOfLastGame;nn.aba’. File number is incremented with each game. These files can be loaded and a game can be played again if required. Trace files can be deleted also.

Undo: Undo the previous move. Moves can be undone to the start of the game. Moves can also be undone after loading a saved game.

Give hint: Computer will give hint for this move

Standard: Restart the game with the standard board layout

Marguerite: Restart the game with the standard board layout

Bowl Layout: Restart the game with the standard board layout

Random: Restart the game with the standard board layout

Log on/off: Show/hide the moves log window

Help: Provide help about the game

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Shortcut Keys:

Escape Stop automoves ad set both players to manual. This allows interruption of game when both Green and Red are autoplay

S or s Set sound on or off

+ or - Increase or decrease pause interval between automoves

* Remove pause interval between moves

A or a Let computer play this move

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Playing Tips by Wayne Schmittberger, ex-Editor of Games Magazine (see Gamez.net)

1. At the start, advance your marbles quickly toward the center of the board. Marbles in the center are much safer, and can move around more easily, than ones near the edge. And, if you can occupy the center, you will also force your opponent's marbles to stay near the edge. (Unless your opponent(s) can outwit you and take over the center).

2. Keep your marbles together. Your marbles are strongest in a solid group. The more lines in which you have connected rows of three or more marbles, the harder it will be for your opponent to push you back toward the edge.

3. "Divide and Conquer". Try to separate the opponent's marbles into two or more groups. Smaller groups will be easier to push back and trap against the edge of the board, where they will be lost.

4. Plan ahead. Wherever your marbles are next to your opponent's, carefully consider the effect of each possible push. Pushes tend to create many new possibilities for each side, since as many as five marbles can change position at once (when three marbles push two).

5. Think twice before pushing an opponent's marble off the board. Early in the game, it is usually more important to keep your marbles in the center than to move them toward the edge in order to eject a marble or two. (If you fall behind 2-0 or 3-1 in pushing off marbles, you can easily catch up if you have the move central position.) And if an opponent's marble has no way to escape, don't hurry to push it off, as you will usually have a more important move to make elsewhere.

6. Abandon stragglers. Don't waste time trying to link up isolated marbles with your main group, unless you can do it in just a move or two.

7. Play patiently. When you're not sure what to do, look for your least useful marble(s), and try to improve their positions.

8. The more marbles that have been pushed off the board, the more important it is to gain the lead in marbles. Although a strong central position is more important that ejecting marbles early in the game, the opposite is trow after each side has lost three or four marbles. If your marbles are badly scattered around the edges after you have pushed off six of your opponent's marbles, it won't matter! .

9. Try hard to be the first player to eject five marbles. The first player to push off a fifth marble will usually have a big advantage, because the opponent will then have to look after every vulnerable marble, and answer every threat to eject a marble.

10. Late in the game, play accurately and aggressively. If you see a way to eject enough of the opponent's marbles to bring your total up to six, don't bother to defend your own marbles unless the opponent can win before you do.

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