Discussion LOA

Disputable Rules

Although LOA is a young game and not played by many people, several variants of the game exist concerning the initial board or the rules. The first issue is not a big problem, but the second issue leads to confusion in the LOA community. Below I will deal with the most common variants of the rules.

Rule 2: Black moves first.

In the LOA programs Lines of Action 1.0 and LOA2D White begins. There is no doubt that Black begins, because this is clearly described by Sackson. The possible reason that people start with White is because this is analogously with chess and draughts.

Rule 8:

Alternative 1: If a move simultaneously creates a single connected unit for both the player moving and the opponent, the player moving wins.

In the the first edition of A Gamut of Games this situation was described as a draw. Personally I like the original rule. There are two stories why the rule was changed. 1) Sackson put it wrong in his originally edition. 2) This situation was not originally covered by the rules. Sackson made this rule up for his edition not deliberating it with the inventor Soucie. Soucie decided that draws must be eliminated in LOA and changed the rule. Still the original rule is in force in many LOA tournaments. The "new" rule (simultaneous connection is a win) is sometimes called the NOST rule, because it is in force at the NOST tournament.

Alternative 2: A move which creates a simultaneous connection is illegal.

I don't know whether this rule is actually used. Jorge Gomez Arrausi has sent met this rule and calls it the "Basque" rule. This rule ends the controversy between the draw and win rule, simultaneous connection is not allowed. The problem is that this rule is not used in the main tournaments at the moment.

Rule 9: If a player cannot move, this player loses.

Soucie did not cover this situation. LOA players thought that this situation was impossible in a real game for a long time. But computer simulations proved that such a situation could occur in a real game. The alternative proposed and commonly used was that the player has to pass. Unfortunately Soucie has died in 1997. It is hard to find a satisfying rule.

Some points against the lose rule.

The object of the game is to connect your pieces in one group. Not to eliminate the opponent's moves like in Amazons or draughts. LOA is a connection game, you win by connecting your pieces.

You don't know if the player would have lost the game. It deserves a chance to defend itself.

The player is punished enough by passing. In LOA passing is mostly disadvantageous.

Some points against the passing rule.

If you look at rule 3 a player has to move, passing is out of the question.

The game is called Lines of Action. The name suggests active play, not passive play by passing.

The player would probably lose the game anyway in this situation. By the passing rule the game would continue unnecessarily longer.

It is possible that passing is an advantage. The player is not punished but rewarded.

Recently, Jorge Gomez Arrausi posted the following alternative solution to this matter: "If a player cannot move, the game should be drawn. The objective is the connection." The problem with this rule is that introduce drawing, which is not the intention of LOA (see also the discussion about rule 8).

Rule 10: If a position with the same player to move occurs for the second time, the game is drawn.

In some LOA tournaments it is a draw after the third time, but I think this is a question of taste. Because of this rule LOA can end in a draw. Remember that Soucie tried to eliminate possible draws in LOA. An alternative is not to allow repetitions in LOA. If this rule is applied, it is possible that a player cannot move (because the moves would result in a repetition). Rule 9 would apply then.